Night of the Grimm: Fractal
by DekktheODST
Summary: A young child of the girl named Raven is made into an orphan as he watched her get brutally murdered in front of him. Now, after 10 years of living in the forest, an odd man comes to show him the light. The light of his gift, which will be the only way to save Remnant from disaster. An AU interpretation of the Grimm lore that is more based on mechanics and physics.
1. Chapter 1

Foreword from the Author: This is a Semi-AU Fan fic, so some events may diverge from Canon, especially regarding the lore. Take it as such. Even so, parts of the story will operate within the RWBY timeline.

I was only 18 when I started my first world war. My life had been one of confusion, always spiraling towards the inevitable bloodshed that was carved into my DNA. I was never able to find out why I did start that war, why I purposely started the conflict that would end life. Yet, in order to understand the paradoxical, the illogical, and the dumb reason for why I killed everyone, I feel its best to know where humanity stemmed from.

Once, long ago, life blossomed anew in a column of fire, burning the world it once inhabited. Through the ashes of an old world a new one sprung forth, hatching from its cocoon and growing into its final state. It was a state of perfection, where pain would never again bubble out of the pores of the monsters it once knew. Yet, nothing can be truly created or destroyed. In the newly perfected state of the world, all the sins of the old world grew hotter and hotter and hotter.

It was on that day, when the pain boiled over, that we call the Night of the Grimm.

We, who had been perfected, had seen the witness of man's evils condense and form in an explosion.

He, the explosion of a ashen cloud of mushroom, who sent poisoned air and burned us alive.

They, who arose from the ashes. They, who were once man but never more.

Humanity learned of its mistake that day. In our selfish attempts to achieve perfection, we had destroyed a once perfect world and created the ultimate monsters. The Grimm.

They hunted and hunted and hunted, until what was left of Humanity began to slowly die off, withering away like a rotten apple. They tired of the rotten world they created, flying into the void in metal birds of flight, leaving the rest of us to wither away in the cold.

All our pain, our suppressed desires to kill, had finally been given a bodily form.

I, who had been born a millennia after the Night of the Grimm.

I, who had never known humanity.

I, who would know it more than most.

I, who would end it.

My story, in order to begin, must first be given context of the years before.

You see, in the days before Beacon, these monsters still fed off the corpses of man. Humanity had been confined to simple hunting villages, never lasting more than a month before returning to the dark from whence it came. Of these establishments, seven had managed to survive for more than 600 years on there own.

These great villages, known as the Great Cities, were the only ones who had managed to save the knowledge of the Dead World and the People Who Left Long Since, the world long since decayed. They were called Greed, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy, and Pride.

They created a circle, whose size has always been debated. What is known, however, is that this circle created by the Great Cities was enough for thousands of villages to occupy. One of these small villages was named Cardinal. That was were my parents lived.

This circle, a safe zone where Humanity could once again grow, was named 'Beacon.'

But not as you know it.

It was a Beacon of hope, our light in the literal dark.

Cardinal was located near the center, was the knowledge nexus of the world. All knowledge of everything New or Dead had been held there, and was the prize of Humanity.

Yet, Humanity began to forget its sin.

In these cities, men began to prove its evil once again. Even after cleansing itself and isolating what possibly made them human to begin with, they began to grow dark. The tragedies that you know all too well began to occur yet again. Rape, murder, violence, hatred, all blossoming in its beauty. Its beauty, like a rose.

But a rose has thorns.

The Grimm reacted, growing into a frenzy of power and murderous intent. They, in the Second Night of the Grimm, had flooded into our cities and ravaged our people. We, who held them off for years on end, fell back to Cardinal. In our attempts to write off our evil as Grimm, we forgot that we weren't perfect.

A similar thing could be said about the Grimm themselves...

There, in the heart of Cardinal, the Hunters were created.

Along with the Faunus.

Using the knowledge of the Dead World, we synthesized yet another perfect breed of man. While we had removed our sins all those years ago, we now removed the cage of our bodies. We created the perfect vessel of power, a body which on the surface looked no different.

It was on the Seventh night of the Second Night of the Grimm that it can be said Humanity died. Why? All the men and women who had survived in this New world up until now had died, leaving only the city of Cardinal.

My parents were ones of the days of the New World.

In the flaming rubble of Wrath, they ran with my in their arms all the way to Cardinal, where they hid me in a collapsed building. I was no more than a newborn at that time, and was doomed to die. Still, they placed me within that rubble with tear filled eyes and ran off to fight the losing battle until their deaths.

We fought back. Humanity.

In our last dying breaths, we pushed the Grimm back beyond the corpses of the Great Seven Cities and rebuilt our defenses. Then, we died. I cannot tell you of the last human that died, or if he knew he was the last one. In a see of Hunters, no line could be drawn between us and them. Yet, just as it is factual that the sun burns bright, we died.

The Hunters continued, rebuilding the corpse of the New world into the World of Beacon. The world without pain or suffering, but without humanity or love. I, a Hunter, was found from that rubble by a Hunter known as Raven Branwen, my mother. She, who had just had a child of her own, had taken me under her wing. That child of hers was named Vigilance Black, my older brother.

Many had called her mother, but in truth she just ran an orphanage.

This is the story of my childhood.

I set down my book to look up at my Mother, who sighed with a tired face. She was beautiful, and unbelievably young, but that didn't stop the stress of raising two children from draining every ounce of energy she had. Her soft red eyes focused on me, her black hair flowing down from her head across her red silken dress. In our years of living within this cabin in the Dark Forest, it was amazing that she could stay so perfect.

"Mommy, what are we having for dinner?" I asked, walking up to her. She smiled at my youth, being no more than eight at the time. Her hand softly stroked through my gray hair, which contrasted her lineage so drastically. Nevertheless, she took my up in her arms and placed me on her lap, kissing me on my forehead.

"Stew again, little cub." Her voice said almost melodically. I smiled, leaning my head against her chest and closing my eyes softly.

"Where is Vigilance, Mommy?" I asked, my eyes growing heavy with slumber. Her lips stretched to a modest smile, her hand falling to my head and petting me.

"He's practicing his Semblance."

"What is a Semblance, Mommy?" I asked, causing her to chuckle slightly. Her weight went back in the old rocking chair, gently pushing us back and forth as her hand brushed the odd mask of her belt.

"That is for you to find out, little cub."

"But Mommy, you tell me all that stuff about the Dead World, why can't you tell me about this?" I asked, pointing to the old worn book on her couch. Her eyes gently closed, her breathing steadying.

"No one can say, little cub. The world is a big place, and one day you'll have to step out into it. I fear for the day when that will happen."

A scream interrupted her speech. From the backyard, my brother howled in pain. My mother instantly forgot the sleep that wore heavy on her eyelids as she placed on her mask and drew her katana, running outside. I followed quickly in pursuit, unaware of what was going on.

A Monster, black with bones of white, held my brother within the grips of his jaw. Vigilance screamed in pain as the monster bit into his stomach, petals of blood falling from the bleached white teeth of the Grimm. It had no mammal based form, no animal it was derived from.

"Mirror, stay back!" Mother shouted, leaping into action. Her blade blurred as it carved into the monster, shedding petals of crimson as the Grimm's organs leaked out of its rotten fur. It howled in pain, thrusting its claw against Raven's sword and causing a spark of light. The monster reeled back, swallowing my brother whole.

I screamed, knowing he was gone. Death wasn't a concept I understood until that moment.

Raven screamed at the death of her child, her blade glowing into a flame as she leaped around the monster, carving off entire sections of bone and blood. The creature howled in annoyance, swatting but a simple paw and cutting into her stomach, sending her to the floor.

And she died.

I screamed in agony, burying my head in my hands from the gory sight in front of me. It was in that moment that I snapped, losing all the innocence that my mother had worked so hard to kindle. My cream grew into a howl as my eyes glowed red in anger, my hair dying black and my fingers clicking. Bone shattered through my knuckles, forming claws and forcing me to fall into insanity.

I never could remember what happened in that moment.

Yet, when I awoke, I was alone. My hair was back to a gray and my family was gone. At the age of eight I was left to fend for myself.

I knew what I was. A monster. A Grimm


	2. Chapter 2

Every couple of months a Grimm would come to try to steal my territory, attempting to prove its dominance over me. Every month they failed, falling to my claws of bone.

I would spend days reading over the books Mother kept from me, about the days of the Dead World, a world filled with a school of thought that never seemed to be anything but a fantasy. It wanted answers for the unanswerable, like how I could be both beast and not-beast. Even in my feral state, I knew how important such a gift was.

I would write daily, reading one of the books of my Mother every day. I would attempt to talk to myself, trying not to forget the words I had been taught. This continued for ten years, my routine. Defend against the monsters by becoming a monster, and attempt to learn how I did so. Many things danced around in my head as I scanned these books, but never how my hands could turn to claws.

It was terrible, my mind. With part of me infected with the curiosity of the books of Mother, and the other part of me infected with a animalistic stupor, it was a constant battle with myself. Why should I read when it didn't help me hunt? What good was learning about how we breed if I never met a mate? Why did an 'atom' matter against the claws of the beasts? The only thing that mattered was being on top of the food chain, said part of me.

Yet another part always hungered. Not for flesh, as that would be understandable. It hungered for something that I couldn't touch, as if the reason why the lights in the sky were there literally pained me. Who? What? When? Where? Why? I found being the words I most commonly wrote on the leather I would dry.

Why was drinking water from a still pond going to make me feel bad when drinking from a river never did? They both seemed to be clean water, but why? Or why did the ball of light called the 'sun' in the old books vanish every day? It said because a thing called Earth orbited it. That would mean this 'Earth', if that's what we are, was round. I would love for that, because I hate being confined to my territory. The Big Grimm keep me here, and try to steal my land from me with their monster-friends, but I never let them. They thought they were the top of the food chain, when it was me.

Me. What was me? I found myself asking this a lot. 'Mirror' always seemed to be a good answer. Not just because that was the sound Mother referred to me as, but because that's also what she called that one object that looks like me. The old books taught me that the 'me' I saw really was bouncing 'light', reflected off the silver and glass surface.

The old books, what Mother would call the Forbidden Books, always were good. They taught me so much, like how birds could sing or how the mirror could show Mirror. It showed me why the 'clouds' in the sky can fly, and that they aren't cotton. It taught me how to preserve meat by making 'salt', a tasty thing. It taught me how to make fire, and what fire was. Not a 'gas', 'liquid' or 'solid', but a 'chemical reaction.' The concepts I understood, but the words were always hard. I understood what an atom was, but not how word 'atom' was said. "A-toom?" "At-om?" "A-tom?" or even "Ato-m?"

Still, there was much the old books didn't explain. What the feral side of me wanted to know was never in the books. It always wanted to know why I had claws, even though the men in those books only had hands. It wanted to know how I could create claws from nothing, and how Grimm 'evolved', another odd word used by the book. The feral side eventually became curious, if for nothing else than to survive. Yet, it would get angry when the answers were not there.

The book still had some things my Feral side liked. It taught me how to cut trees, and use wood to make fire. I learned how to use the sharp metal in the house to carve into the tree's wood, and soak the wood with water until I could bend it and tie strings to each end. I could then either attach worms to it and lure fish, or I could bend the wood more and make a 'bow'. I loved my bow. It was a weapon that let me attack without having to touch the monsters of Grimm, something that was groundbreaking for me at the time.

To say the feral side is to word it wrong. Don't blame my mind, but the words I don't know how to use. I was feral, and I was not. I was a mixture, a case of odd. I knew why the leaves died yearly, but I also grew mindless and angered when cornered. There were no lines between self and animal.

Aura

Dust

Semblance.

Things that angered me, my feral side. Such a thing of power should have an answer, but it didn't. Why could these beasts fight so and nobody in these books know what they are?

All this changed when the man came.

The doorbell had rung, and I had not pressed it. I knew instantly that this was something I barely could comprehend, as no Grimm had the smarts to use such a thing. My hand slowly opened the door, ready to turn feral at any moment if attacked.

Instead, a man in green with gray hair met my gaze. He was older than any person I had ever seen, but I wouldn't say he was old. Maybe 'middle aged', to use the terms of the old books. He had lived maybe 40 'earth' cycles around the 'sun', or 'years', as the book called it. Not to be confused with 'days', despite how it may seem. The 'earth' was spinning while spinning, and those nights and days were not 'years'

Ye-ars?

Yea-rs.

Y-ears?

"Hello, Mr. Black. I take this as the Branwen household?" He said, tapping his cane on the ground. His words contained a certain magic to them that I couldn't describe. Such complex words and concepts like 'household' he said with no effort. Yes, I knew a household was the cabin, referring to a lineage of a family. Their blood. That I knew. I wasn't 'dumb' or 'ignorant'.

"Yes.. Who.. are yo-u?" I said, likely butchering the pronunciation. He smiled, baring his teeth. I leaped back, hissing slightly and summoning a bone claw. He chuckled, holding up his hands in peace. It was then that I remembered Mother bore her teeth when she was happy, not angry. I did the same, baring my teeth as a sign of peace.

"My name is Ozpin, and I am the Headmaster at Beacon Academy. Do you know what that is?" He asked. I nodded, remembering the books. Beacon wasn't in the old books much, but it was there "I would like to confirm. Is this not the illegal orphanage run by a certain Raven Branwen?"

"You...k-new my mot-her?" I asked, pronouncing the silent 'k' without knowing it.

"Yes. In fact, I took a few of her children under my wing not that long ago. Did she ever tell you of a certain Yang and Ruby?" He explained. I shrugged. Maybe, but it had been ten years. 365 times 10 sun cycles... 3650 days spent out here. Mother did have other children, but they ran away when I was 7.

"Maybe."

"I have been watching you through my students for some time, Mr. Black. I must say, your skills as a Hunter are truly refined, and certainly worth a scholarship at Beacon Academy."

"Scholarship?" I said, knowing nothing about it.

"I would like you to come to my home." He said. So his nest. His cabin of learning. Where I could learn why I could create claws.

"Why?" I asked, choosing my favorite word.

"I feel you can create a new world without Grimm. You have something within you, and I need that. Your knowledge of the Dead World already far exceeds that of any of our scholars, thanks to Raven's illegal stash of books."

"The old books? You can have them."

"Its more than just that, Mr. Black. If you do not know, allow me to explain. Beacon is part of a larger country called Cardinal, which is currently run by a monarchy. Do you know what that is?"

"Yes, a monarchy. King. Top of the food chain. They create laws and assign territory."

"More or less. As it stands, that knowledge is illegal. Do you want to know why?"

"Yes. I like 'why'."

"That's good. Its a complex answer, but I'll give you an easy version. Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a meal."

"But teach him to fish, feed him for a lifetime." I said, finishing the sentence. I knew it well. It was why I loved the old books, both Feral and Not.

"Exactly. Those books contain illegal knowledge that only you know. Knowledge is powerful, as it can teach you something you can use for a lifetime. Once we leave, I need to burn that shack, its just what the king demands. I, however, do not need to burn you."

"And I know of the Dead World."

"Exactly. So how about it. Will you join me?" He said, but I grabbed his shirt and looked him straight in the eye.

"How do you... know Raven? You took the children before me, but not me? Why wait so long?" I demanded. He smiled, placing his hand on mine.

"Its a complex answer, which I know you'd love to hear. That being said, the context needed to answer it is best learned by yourself, at my Academy. Okay?" He said this, but I didn't buy it. He didn't need me, he needed Raven's children. "Here, I even brought you a peace offering. While my students were observing you in secret, we've taken note of your fighting style and created this. My gift to you, a weapon unnamed." He said, handing me a rifle. I carefully held it in my hand, holding it in my arms and observing it hesitantly. In the old book titled 'Guns', this would have been called a sniper rifle. Long distance was needed to attack, which never happened in the Forest (unless you counted my bow.)

It was a large chunk of metal, its barrel a thick slab of iron. A dust dial was placed right after the trigger, allowing for the manipulation of the bullet's effect. A metal blade rested just under the grip of the gun, ready to pop out at an second.

My hand carefully ran along the weapon, clicking the button on the scope. It clicked and whirred, the scope folding down as the barrel popped out its blade, forming a one-sided Greatsword. The very scope I was holding became the grip of the sword, which was balanced perfectly in my hand. With a smile, I nodded in agreement.

"And your students made this?"

"Yes."

"And I can learn all I want? How Dust works? All I want about the Dead World?"

"I'm afraid you know everything there is about the Dead World. And, as for Dust, I was hoping you could tell us. We only have a basic understanding of it, and how to use it."

I nodded, looking back to my cabin. The only world I had even known.:


	3. Chapter 3

I slowly climbed off the airship and took my first step on a different world. While I had known only trees, this world was dominated by the very same pillars of metal that I had read about within the Forbidden and Hidden Books.

"Amazing…"

I found myself muttering. Ozpin smiled, handing me a cup of some black liquid.

"Here, have some coffee. You've had a long day."

I took a sip from the cup, cringing at the bitter flavor.

"Gross."

He reached into his pocket, handing me three cups of something. Popping them open, I poured them into my cup. He gently stuck in a straw, stirring it for me over the slow whirring blades of the air ship.

"Try that."

I took a sip. It was actually rather good.

With a smile, I looked at the headmaster with curiosity, hoping he would explain this complex world to me. Instead, however, he simply walked forward without looking in my direction.

"Feel free to explore. You can find a new set of clothes in your dorm."

I looked down at the clothes he had given me. They were by no means nice, but the were far superior to the rags I had been living in for the past few years.

"What's a dorm?"

He chuckled, taking a sip of the brown liquid from his cup.

"It's a room in an academy where some people live. I suppose you haven't had a dorm assigned yet, have you? No matter, tomorrow will begin initiation. Simply explore around until then. If you would like a place to sleep, you can certainly join my cabin for the time being. Blood should stay together." He said, using the term 'blood.' Raven had used that to mean 'allies', saying all men are 'blood.' This man really did know her.

"No thank you."

"I thought as much. Anyways, feel free to explore a bit. Try not to go to the library yet, as I know you'll never return once you enter. Or am I wrong?"

"Probably not."

He nodded.

"Then explore and get to know the people on campus. Tomorrow will decide who you work with until graduation, so I hope you get along well with others."

"Do you know who your talking to?"

"Ah, yes. I suppose it should be considered a miracle you can speak, even though you are very intelligent."

"And how can you tell that?" I said, trying not to take offense to his words. My sentences were already shaping up with the exposure I had received, so I would imagine that could be a good indicator.

"I've already explained. You are Raven's child and so thusly I've been keeping an eye on you. The role you and her children play may not be present right now, but will be all too important in the longer game."

"Don't treat me like a tool."

He chuckled.

"Of course not, I'm the headmaster. I care for each student more than my own life. That's why you should just have fun for today, and explore."

"I still don't know what exactly you want from me."

"Its simple, really. You know more about this world than anyone else, thanks to Raven's teachings. We will create a symbiotic relationship. Do you know what that means?"

"Of course I do. Its two members of different species that act to the benefit of another, and receive benefits for that."

He nodded his head, taking a slow sip of his drink.

"Are you comparing me to a different species?" I asked angrily. He smiled and shook his head, looking to the sky.

"Of course not. I'm just using the relationship as an example. I suspect you want to know how the world works, right? Why Dust acts the way it does, why that big fire ball in the sky burns, why we can't fly like birds, no?"

"I know that much. Things like gravity and fusion were in the Forbidden books."

He nodded, but I could tell the concepts were almost alien to him. Did _he_ know those things?

"Then learn the rest. All we want to know is where the origins of this world of Remnant come from. We know nothing of our history, but you do. Raven stole those books from the Union of Beacon, and we let her because she was carrying something far more valuable."

"Her children."

He nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Do you know what the Grimm are, Mr. Black?"

"What sort of explanation would you want?" I said, leaning against a tree. He sighed, the shadow of its branches cast upon his face. He didn't seem old, and his gray hair was very similar to mine. I wondered where he was born, and if he hailed from Wrath like my birth parents did. I wondered if he even knew of Wrath.

"I want the explanation that comes naturally to you. This much I do know, considering I may or may not have peered into the Forbidden Books once when I was your age. I didn't learn much, but I learned."

I nod, understanding his curiosity.

"Before the Dead World died, Humans were perfectly imperfect. They killed, slaughtered, and sinned. They were smart, far smarter than any Hunter alive today. They knew technology that we couldn't even dream of, creating fully aware electronic consciousness called AI, and much more. They, in their perfect knowledge of anatomy, forcefully tore out the part of us that was responsible for evil. I don't know what that part of us was, or how its scientifically possible, but it happened. The Human race was purified, but at the price of the creation of Lich."

"Lich?"

"The ultimate darkness. It infected the fauna of the once alive Dead World, creating the Grimm. Think of it as a disease."

He nodded.

"And you know all of this because of Raven?"

"Yes. How do you know her?"

He sighed.

"That was long ago… Its unimportant. What is important is that you talk with those on this campus." He said, looking at me softly. I felt myself bite my lip subconsciously, looking at all the people behind him. There were just so many. Way more living creatures than I had ever seen in one place.

"How?"

"You'll learn." He said with a smile, waving someone over.

"What other secret's are you holding about my families history?" I asked. He smiled, brushing back his grey hair and patting my head, grabbing a fist full of my blank colored stems.

"Oh, a man can have secrets." He said with a smile. A man roughly my age walked over calmly, brushing aside his blue hair.

"This is Galius Sidonia, one of our top students."

"Nice to meet you."

He said with a smile, sticking out his hand. Again, I felt myself looking at it with a furrowed brow. Just as Ozpin had, he looked away and chuckled with an awkward glance.

"So this is Forest boy, huh?"

"Forest boy?" I said, feeling an angry look flash on my face.

"Yes, please do show him around if possible. He will be joining us in initiation tomorrow."

"Will do, sir. C'mon, Forest boy."

He patted my back, pushing me forward.

"Hey!" I shouted, but his hand wrapped around my dull black clothes. After scanning them for a moment, he dropped them with disgust.

"We need to get you new armor before tomorrow. Let's try to head over to the forge so I can get Lilith to craft you some."

"Lilith?"

"A girl our age, real pretty. Probably not your type though."

"My type?" I felt myself asking in confusion. He smiled, patting me on my back yet again.

"Oh, I forgot you've never seen a girl. How much that's gotta suck."

"Please let go of me." I said, taking his hand in mine and lowering it with a serious gaze.

"Ooh, Forest boy's got some attitude."

"Stop calling me Forest boy. That's not my name. Its Mirror Black." I said, looking up at the expense of the Beacon Campus. How many knew of the death that hung over this place?

"If you say so, Mirror. Still, the school knows you as Forest boy, so get used to it."

Luckily, he stayed quiet for the rest of our walk around the campus. Nobody else talked to me, with the exception of when we entered in what I assumed was the 'forge'. A person, who sort of looked like Raven, walked up to me. Her chest was larger than any man's, and she seemed to have a curve to her figure. I have to admit it was confusing to see such a thing, but I didn't let my curiosity show.

"Hi, who might you be?"

"Mi-"

"Forest boy." Said Galius, tapping my shoulder. I glared at him, thrusting his hand off of me. The desire to go feral and show him his place arose, but I suppressed it. These were Hunters, not my everyday Grimm. I've never fought something bipedal before, and I suspect it would be a challenge.

"Oh, really? Hey, is it true what they say? Did you live in the forest for 10 years?"

"I think." I said, looking past her into the complex machinery.

"That's amazing!"

"And your name?"

"Lilith, but I prefer Lily."

"Is this were my weapon was made?"

I said, holding out my unnamed weapon. It really needed a title.

…

Bone Claw. That sounds sort of cool.

..Maybe not, but it would do the trick.

She scanned my weapon, carefully clicking its trigger and watching it fold out. Taking it into her oddly small and soft hands, she spun it around, nodding at its weight.

"Definitely made here."

"Can you make me some armor?"

She nodded, waving me over to a chair. Pointing to it, she directed me to sit down. I did as she said, carefully leaning back into the leather. I could tell it wasn't Grimm leather by the smell, but I didn't know what creature gave way to it. My forest was mostly filled with Grimm, never any other of the animals rumored in my Forbidden Books that Mom would read to me at night.

"This machine is going to read your Aura, okay? This might hurt."

Lily gently placed something on my forehead, making sure I was comfortable. With a nod, I asked her to turn on the machine. Her finger pressed the button, the machine clicking on and beginning to whir into action.

"What is an Aura, anyways?" I asked from beneath the machine. Galius snickered, patting my head.

"Dude, that's not what you should be worried about right now."

He pressed a button on the machine.

It shot needles into my temples, causing me to scream in pain. Blood, blood, blood. It dripped down from my head, a yell of pain erupting as my hands flailed.

Fury.

Wrath.

It burned in my blood, activating my fight or flight sense. My body chose fight, bones protruding from my fingers and a yell escaping my throat.

"W-What the hell?!" Yelled Galius, leaping back in shock. I screamed in pain, feeling the grayness of my hair bye black as tar.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Lily shouted to Galius, who was frozen in fear. I grabbed the machine, attempting to tear it off its hinges and throw it away, but it stood.

Pain, it hurts. Get it off!

Galius clicked off the machine, waving for Lily.

"Hold him down!" He said, grabbing my left arm. I noticed her nod, her soft hands wrapping around my right. I screamed, my bones clicking as they wrapped around my skin to form a protective shell.

The armored bones of a Grimm.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know! Try to get him to call down, I think this is some kind of Semblance!"

Let go of me!

It hur-

It doesn't hurt. The needles were gone, no longer sticking into my head. I felt my arms slow their trashing, gently settling on the table. My bones clicked as they collapsed back beneath my skin, my hair returning to its pale complexion. Lily quietly removed the machine from my head, looking at me straight in the eyes.

"What are you?" She asked, her eyes more serious than I understood.

"A Hunter, I think." Rising, I gripped my head. A loud throbbing was beating against my skull, causing me to experience the worst headache. Hunter, the genderless word for Huntsman or Huntress.

"That's uh… an interesting semblance. I don't think I've seen one quite like that." He said, flopping against the desk. My frenzy had tired him, to the point where his breath was heavy and shallow.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking down. Lily brushed the notion away, picking up her pad.

"It should have been expected. The goal of this machine is to read someone's Aura and try to bring out their Semblance, so it only makes sense that you'd… do that. What 'that' is, I don't know."

"What are these things anyways? Semblances, Auras?"

"An Aura is something that is emitted by the soul, and that takes form in the Semblance." Said Lily,, who looked at me with an unsettling interest. I felt like some sort of lab rat beneath her, despite never getting the vibe of a her being a scientist. Still, I found myself glaring at her unsatisfied.

"Don't give me that crap. What are they really? A soul can't just 'take form.' That's not how Physics works." I said, causing them both to look at each other in confusion.

"Physics?" They said in unison. Do they really not know what Physics is? How little do they know of the Dead World? Either way, I shouldn't go around preaching the knowledge for the Forbidden Books. Whoever Ozpin was, and he wasn't just a headmaster, I felt a fear from him that I haven't in a while. It was one that said 'you are no longer at the top of the food chain', and that wasn't acceptable. To not be at the top was to be eaten, and to be eaten was to die.

...I suppose he did save me from the woods, gave me a scholarship, and gave me a new weapon, so I doubt he would be trying to kill me. Either way, I should be careful around him.

"Anyways, did you get enough data from that to build me some armor?" I said, causing her to look at her tablet. How did they even craft that with no knowledge of physics? The machinery within that needs a knowledge of Atomic theory in order to function. Coding occurred in binary, which was a literal code based off electrons.

"Who made that?"

"Who made what?"

"That tablet thing. Who made it?"

"Ironwood Productions, why?"

"Do you know how they're made?"

"They just use Dead World tech, so I hear. They got this big machine that just copies things and remakes them. They call it the Prometheus."

I've never heard of such a machine. Even so, could it really accurately scan and recreate old technology? If so, then why wasn't there a monopoly? Whoever created that machine should have complete and utter control over all technological production. If they had all the tech of the Dead World, such as the Heaven's Bomb, they could potentially have enough power to take over a country. No, probably more than just a country.

I'm beginning to see why Ozpin needs this knowledge.

"Well, we did get enough data. Its currently being made down in Cell Block A. Let's go get it." Lily said, hoping from the table. I sighed, following her and Galius down further to a large machine. It clicked and whirred, various molten ores flowing throughout metal piping.

"This armor will be completely unique. There will be no armor like this ever again, and there hasn't been one yet."

"Why is it unique?"

"Because all Aura's are unique, duh. Our machines scan your Aura and channel it into this thing, literally making armor out of it."

"How?"

She shrugged, clicking the machine. It ejected steam, gas flinging from the valves as she pulled the heavy metal door open, revealing my armor. It gleamed in the light, its gray metal shining.

"The leather and cotton part of your armor should be done…" Galius said, pulling out clothes from the second large machine. He threw them into my arms, turning to leave.

"Get changed and meet me upstairs. Up next we'll do a sparring match. I better not get clawed to death." He said, Lily following behind. I shrugged, looking down at the gray clothing. Throwing the clothes over my head and gearing up in the armor, I felt oddly comfortable. The weight of the armor was well distributed, and allowed complete movement. Such an armor would require heavy knowledge of anatomy, another field of study I felt these Hunters lacked.

After changing, I walked out of the forge and looked around, not seeing either Galius or Lilith. My nose flickered as I took in the scent of the wind, my mind racing. A familiar... smell plagued my nose. It wasn't as simple as a smell. It almost could be described as a gut feeling, something that was bringing me back to my time with my mother. I looked around frantically, trying to find Raven. Instead, a boy and a girl roughly my age walked over, waving.

"Hi! Who are you?" One said excitedly. Her hair was nearly black with only exception to the bottoms strands, which were dyed red. The other was a tall blonde, who wore rather heavy armor for a casual wear. Before I could answer her question, the tall blond one spoke.

"Oh! I know this guy!"

"You do?" The girl and I said in confusion.

"Yeah! You're Forest boy! Hey, is it true you lived alone for 10 years?" He said. I instantly felt sick of him, wishing he'd move on.

"I'm Mirror Black, not Forest boy. Yes, I did live alone for 10 years."

"Yang!" The small girl shouted, waving over a blonde girl. The new person, who was probably a year or so older, looked at me with hesitant eyes.

"So you're that kid, huh?" Said the new girl. I sighed, feeling defeated.

"Anyways, I'm Ruby and this is Jaune." Said the small black haired girl, pointing to the tall blonde man. "Oh, and that's Yang." She said, pointing to the girl.

"Mirror Black." I said, watching 'Yang.' Her gaze was suspicious, as if she disliked me before I even said a word.

"Ruby, let's go. You don't want to talk to this guy."

_Do you remember Raven's other children? Ruby and Yang?_

Ozpin's voice awoke me to the situation. With my eyes focused, I slowly walked up to Yang, making sure she saw into my cold, grey, eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" I said, causing Ruby and Juan to shrink in cartoonish fear. I ignored them, looking at Raven's eldest child. How much did she know? She had to have known about the Dead World. Same with that Ruby girl.

"What do you think I mean? Leave my sister and I alone."

"Why?"

Her glare was red hot, but I didn't back down. The situation I was in was known only by her and Ozpin, and Ozpin wasn't helping me. Even if I had to carve the answers out of her, I would find out why my mother took those books and stole me from the flame.

"Because you're a bad idea. You've lived alone, for ten years, and you don't think you're an animal?"

"I can speak, which is more than most animals can do, can't they?" I said, glaring at her.

"Guys…" Ruby said, mixing in concern and fear.

"You know, don't you? You know about the Dead World." I said, looking into her boiling red eyes. She grabbed me by the collar, hoisting me into the air.

"Drop it, now."

"Yang! Put him down this instant!" Ruby shouted, grabbing her arm. "He didn't do anything!"

The blonde girl did as she ordered, setting me on my own two feet. With a more than suspicious look on her face, she turned away.

"Leave those things in the dark where they belong." She said simply, before walking away. Ruby sighed, looking at me embarrassed.

"Sorry about Yang. I don't know what got over her."

"It's fine. Do you know where the Sparring Arena is?"

"In that building over there." Said Jaune, pointing to a large skyscraper-esc structure. I gasped in amazement at the pure craftsmanship that created such a building, another element of this society that made no sense. With no concept of physics, how do you _build_ that colossus?

I waved goodbye to them, not really wishing to speak with Ruby further. She may be a Child of Raven, but I'm not sure what that means yet. I might as well wait until I'm stronger to start poking my nose in dangerous things. Speaking of noses, that smell still didn't go away. It always was lurking, as if telling me I wasn't alone. Telling me I needed to find the source.

The door to the Arena opened slowly, its creak echoing throughout the metal structure. There, in the middle of the area, was a lone figure. I had expected it to be Galius or Lily, but it seemed to be someone else. His hair was a bright red, his eyes a soft gold.

"Hello? Who are you?"

"Forest boy, but don't call me that." I said, causing him to chuckle.

"Alright then, what do I call you?"

"Mirror Black, you?" I asked.

"Rae, no last name."

I nodded, somewhat impressed.

"I'll avoid the questions you must be sick of." He said, holding up ten fingers. A smile snuck its way across my face. I'm beginning to like this guy.

"Well Mirror, since we're here, how about a spar?" He said, drawing an axe from his belt. I could tell that the blade could be used as a boomerang, and a deadly one at that.

"The thing is…" I said, thinking about my Semblance. Considering my lack of control, I didn't think it would be the best thing to spar.

"Relax, I know about your Semblance."

"What?"

"Yeah, I was one of the scouts that was sent to keep tabs on you." He said, causing an uneasy feeling to rise in my chest. For how long was I watched by these students?

…

How much did they see me do?

A slight red hue glowed in my cheeks.

I sighed, pulling the weapon from my hip and clicking it into machine gun mode.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We won't fight serious enough to trigger it, don't worry." He said. Sounds like some famous last words. Well, to be honest, I probably couldn't take him even going feral. These were trained hunters, taught specifically on how to be deadly. While I may have years of experience, I knew nothing of actual fighting.

These thoughts crossed my mind as I climbed onto the stage, readying my weapon and checking my new armor. That would likely be another handicap, this armor. It may be light, but its twenty more pounds than I was used to fighting with. It may not restrict me, but it would slow me down considerably.

"Are you ready?" He said, tapping into the computer. His face glowed on the screen in the air, displaying a health bar. I, however, did not have a picture. Not being yet put into the system had left me without an identity. Still, the computer must have been able to read my 'Aura' and determine a health stat.

Aura, hah. What a load of bull.

I held my weapon up, setting the sights on him.

"3… 2… 1… Spar!" He shouted, bursting into action. He pulled the blade from his axe, thrusting it into the air. The blade flew towards my head with the intent of mutilation, but I was quicker. I ducked beneath the blade and pulled the trigger, causing the gun's barrel to explode with fire. Bullets sped from the rifle as Rae leapt through the air and caught his blade, placing it back within his axe.

I dodged to the right as his blade struck into the ground, causing sparks to explode into the air. Pressing the button on the handle, I folded out the sword. He pulled the blade out, pulling it into two halves of axes, swinging them from the left and right.

There was no way I could dodge-

My arms fall to protect from my head, bone clattering over them, forming a shield over my forearms. The blades bounce off like a toy, leaving me partially in shock. This was the first time I could control my Semblance without going into a Frenzy.

With a smirk, I raised my sword and slashed downwards. Rae was barely able to block the weapon as it struck down, deflecting it to the side. He threw several more blades at me, but I parried and counter attacked each one, forcing him back. Just as I had expected, my attacks were child's play to him, completely without strategy or reason.

His attack came down striking into my abdominal plate. Pain crushed my organs and caused me to gasp out of breath, nearly causing me to drop my weapon. Energy surged through my muscles and forced the blade back, striking him in the thigh.

He countered, slipping underneath my attack and slashing into my arm. Using his momentum, he continued behind me and kicked the nearside of my knee, causing me to fall. As I fell, I attempted to strike him with my staff, but his second axe blocked it. The first one met my throat.

"Game over, I win."

He said, folding away his axes and helping me up. I wince in pain slightly as I do the same, placing my weapon away and looking back at him.

"That was impressive." I said, gently touching the armor of my stomach. He flashed a smile of pride, boastfully placing his hands on his hips.

"I would hope so, I've been training like crazy."

"Well, its certainly showing. Those attacks are unlike anything I've seen in the forest." I said, causing him to smile again. It was clear how proud he was of his efforts here today, and it was well worth it. His skill was unlike anything I've seen, if nothing else.

"I'm going to head back to the cabin, since its probably pretty late. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." I said, watching him walk off. His armor clanked and echoed off the wall as he exited through the back door, likely going to the dorm rooms.

Its late, but I'm not exactly sure where to go. Ozpin may have offered me his cabin, but there is no way I'm going through with that. Even if a symbiotic relationship is formed between us, I would never sleep in the mouth of a predator. I suppose, as I've pointed out before, he probably wouldn't kill me. Either way, I shouldn't blindly be trusting my life to him. So, instead, I walk out into the dark and walk up to a tree, snapping off one of its branches with my weapon. It shouldn't be any more than 8 at night, so I should have enough time.

I carefully stripped away the bark of the red tree, pulling it apart until it became thin threads. Taking the wooden fibres, I weaved a thick fabric. It took hours, but I managed to finish it with a perfection that was even impressive for me. Carefully, I tied it within the two trees and climbed in, looking at the fountain in front of me. This was my first day at Beacon since I was an infant, and what an odd day it had been.

Aura, Semblance, Lack of Physics. What was this world, anyways? Could the logic of the Dead World just not be applied to this New World? I nearly laugh at the thought. To change physics was to change everything. There was something Ozpin wasn't telling me, and I was going to figure it out. Who were Yang and Ruby? Did they know who they were? Yang certainly knew something.

Her eyes. Those boiling red eyes.

They were Raven's.

And... Sleep... took me over...

...

"What are you doing?" A feminine voice asked.

"Wha...? Five more minutes."

"You carve up my tree and create a hammock, right in the middle of my school?" Said the voice. Groaning, I opened my eyes and looked at the woman. It was another blonde, but not Yang. Definitely the same age as Ozpin.

"Who are you?" I asked groggily.

"Glynda. Get up." She said, grabbing the wooden fibers of the tree and flipping me over. I yelped in surprise as my face met the cold dirt, several students laughing.

"I understand you are the child of Raven. That is why you are not being punished right now. Do something like this again and I swear I'll have your head on a pike."

I sighed, climbing up from the dirt and sitting on my hammock.

"You guys didn't even give me a place to sleep. What did you expect?"

"Headmaster Ozpin offered you a spot in his cabin, no?"

"Do you honestly think I would just blindly sleep in that man's room?" I said, causing her to give a suppressed smirk.

"Get to class before I can change my mind." She said. Taking advantage of the little she gave me, I left my makeshift bed and fumbled around campus, finally entering the main building. There, a student directed me to the outside, where an airship was waiting for us.

With no explanation, I climbed into the ship. In with my were Lilith, Rae, Galius, and Ruby.

"Hey, its you! Sorry about earlier." Ruby said, slightly embarrassed. I couldn't help but smile, looking at her. She certainly wasn't my age like I originally guessed. She had to be much younger, but I couldn't place how much.

"Do you know what that was about?" I ask.

"Nope. Yang never really acts like that." She said, kicking her feet back and forth playfully.

"So you don't remember Raven Branwen?"

"Who?" She asked. I sighed, leaning back in my chair.

"And what about you two, then? Where did you two run off to?" I ask Lily and Galius. They both blush and look away shyly.

"N-Nowhere."

"Y-Y-Yeah, where did you get that idea." They said, their faces both red. Glancing over at Rae, he gently tapped the tips of his fingers together. So they were a couple, then? I've heard of such things.

"Well, try to warn me next time. I didn't know where to do."

"Did you really make a bed out of a tree?" Rae asked. I nodded, scratching the back of my head.

"Its just an old trick I learned years ago. Those things are always really comfy, and never take for than a few hours to make." I said, trying to downplay the issue. Still, Rae nodded with an impressed look on his face. We continued to fly for probably close to an hour or two, before the airship finally slowed and stopped, dropping us on the ground. There, Ozpin and Glynda stood.

Other students joined us from the other ships, each containing a weapon and outfit unlike the other. Ruby and Yang grouped with Juan, along with another girl in white and another in black.

"Please choose a sigil and stand on it." Said Ozpin, pointing to various metal pads throughout the grass. I chose the far left one, standing on it hesitantly. My eyes gently gleamed over it, inspecting its contents.

Valves, pistons...

"This will be your initiation. Today you will be flung from this spot into the wilderness where you must achieve a prize hidden in the forest. The moment you are stranded, the first person you see will forever be your partner. So don't mess up."

Forever? Like, forever forever? Is he telling me if I saw Yang I'd have to work with her for the rest of my school life? That is _not _happening.

"Prepare yourselves." Said Ozpin, raising his thumb over the button on his staff. Jaune yelped, attempting to ask several questions, but to no avail. The headmaster clicked his buttoned staff, launching me into the air.

I didn't literally expect to be launched into the air.

My reflexes fired into gear, adrenaline instantly flooding my system and sharpening my vision. Weightlessness lifted my organs and assaulted my stomach, threatening to make me sick.

Trees.

They were coming so quickly.

I clenched my eyes shut, willing for something.

My Semblance responded to my adrenaline, sending bones and armor through my skin and reinforcing my hands. My fingers sharpened to armored claws, grabbing the branch. The force attempted to dislocate my shoulder, but the armor held it stiffly in place. The momentum was instantly absorbed by the Grimm's bones, which slowly vanished back inside as I dropped down.

Oh, I should probably be careful where I lo-

Lily waved at me, running over.

"Hey! Looks like we're partners!"

Well, I guess there are worse people.

"Hey, how was your trip?"

"Good, good. Didn't break anything. How about you?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Fine. I know he told us, but I wasn't expecting to actually be launched into the air. You Beaconers are insane."

"Says the man who lived off of Grimm meat for his entire life."

"I had berries!"

She chuckled, turning to the mountains.

"The shrine is probably that way, if my Semblance is correct."

"What is it?"

"I guess you'd like this. I can see through the eyes of other animals."

She was right, I did like that. Nice and grounded in nature. Not necessarily science, but that's what I would figure out.

We began walking throughout the forest, stepping over branches and vines. The fauna here was already so vastly different than the Shadow Forest which I hailed from. There, everything was gray with exception of flowers. Sometimes, I'd squeeze dyes out of them and paint on the leather I'd make from Grimm hides, making paintings like I saw within the Forbidden Books. All the color of this fauna reminded me of those days.

"Oh no."

Lily drew her sword, looking at the bushes with focused eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"The shrines due north, but we got ourselves some Beowolves!" She said, black figures leaping from the bushes. I instantly drew my blade, preparing to attack. A monster leapt to my right, his stomach meeting the shaft of my staff. Flipping the blade around, I pulled the trigger, bullets exploding out of the weapon. It yelped in pain, but I sliced it in half before it could retaliate.

Another bit into my leg, causing pain to shoot up my leg with a surge of rage. I flipped the sword around around and stabbed it into his head, feeling my fingers sharpen as claws encaged them. My hair began to dye black at its roots, but it didn't dye completely.

I slashed into another Grimm, slinging him in half. He still opened his mouth to bite me, meeting my clawed right hand. With a twitch of my brow, I yanked out petals of blood from his mouth, returning my bloodied hand to the staff.

A female scream erupted from the forest due east, causing birds to fly into the air and distracting the Beowolves.

"Some girl is in trouble!" Shouted Lily. Taking advantage of the distracted Beowolf, I twirled my sword, cutting it in two.

"We got another! A Nevermore!"

A bird screeched as it flew down, shaking the ground with its impact. Its black feathers contrasted the thick, armored bone of the Grimm. This was the master predator, the only thing below me in the food chain of the Shadow Forest. Even so, it seemed young, small, and weak. Nothing like what I would have to have fought in the forest.

...But it was below me, albeit barely.

"Follow my lead!"

I shouted, leaping into the air and striking into the bird's eye. It squealed in pain, its wings flapping and generating a gale stronger than most could withstand.

"Strike the shoulder!"

I shouted, digging my left clawed hand into its skull for support. Lily nodded, leaping up into the air and slashing at its shoulder with her blade. With wing came clean off, causing the bird to screech in pain. It nearly flung me off, causing me to have to let go of my weapon and dig into its remaining eye with my claw.

"Get the other wing!"

I shouted, causing her to react. She leaped into the air, slashing into the second wing and cutting it clean off. The bird shook violently in an attempt to shake me off, but it was no good. I thrust my hands into its armored skull, forcing a crack large enough for my hands to take hold. With a fury of anger, I reached in and grabbed the bone fiber, tearing it apart and exposing its soft, fleshy core.

I grabbed my weapon and thrust it inside, causing the monster to immediately stop its movements. I had won.

I was at the top of the food chain.

We got out piece with ease after that, retreating to the airship and returning to Beacon. There, in the Sparring Arena, Ozpin formally looked between the students. It appeared that Galius and Rae grouped together, but no two other people I knew where in the same group.

"Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and Blake Belledonna. Together you will form the group RWBY, pronounced Ruby." Said Ozpin. "Your team leader will be Ruby Rose. Congratulations."

The group scurried off the stage, and Ozpin cleared his throat.

"Our final group is up next. Galius Sidonia, Rae, Lilith StoneHeart, and Mirror Black, please come forth."

We did as he commanded, stepping forward and looking to our fellow students in arms.

"Together, you will form the group GRLM, pronounced 'Grim.' Your team captain will be..."

He smiled, looking at each of us.

"Galius. Congratulations, I have high hopes for each of you."

We all smiled, looking at him.

"GRLM, I wish you well in your hunting." He said. I couldn't help but smile.

I will.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since my first day at Beacon when I was called to Ozpin's office. By then, I had gained more of a handle on battling and catching up to the skill of Beaconers. I still wasn't close, however. In my grey leather and metal armor, I walked into the Headmaster's office in absolute silence, only greeted by the loud clicking of his clockwork ceiling.

I stood, my arms behind my back. I, Mirror Black, had changed since my first day. All the curiosity in my blood, while still there, had been subdued. Hours were spent in the library, but only after I was told in secret to stop asking about Raven. My discoveries were countless, and I do feel that I may be the most knowledgeable person on this planet. It wasn't a good thing, no longer being able to ask such questions and be given answers. Not only that, but I wasn't particularly smart or knowledgeable. Every citizen should have the level of knowledge I had. The little knowledge we held was dated and false, completely worthless in my eyes. Remnant was functioning off the work of a five year old, and some how getting by. No doubt due to Prometheus.

"Mirror, do you know why I called you in here today?"

"No sir." I said, still standing tall. He turned around in his chair, sipping a cup of coffee. In my days here, I learned I actually quite like coffee. At first, I hated the bitter taste. It may have reminded me of the ripe berries of the Shadow Forest, but that wasn't a good thing. Nostalgia isn't immediately a positive thing.

"Do you know of Roman Torchwick?" He asked, looking at me over his glasses.

"Yes sir."

"And of James Ironwood?"

"Yes sir."

"Tell me all you know of them. Even if its just speculation." He said, causing me to shift my weight uncomfortably.

"As you command, Headmaster. Roman Torchwick can be described as a thief, but in reality he's closer to a terrorist. He storms shops and shipments, stealing kilos of Dust with no end in sight. James Ironwood, however, is far more in my field. The man, I dare say, is the greatest threat currently alive on our planet."

"Is that so? I'll have you know he is an old friend of mine."

"Of course, Headmaster. Still, that doesn't change my opinion. He runs the military academy Atlas, training hundreds of Hunters in the art of murder. Not only that, but he currently runs Ironwood Productions, a company I feel is more dangerous that a loaded pistol. They are the sole owners of the Prometheus Patent, meaning all Dead World tech belongs solely to them. Not only have we seen extreme advancements in technology, but also in the field of war from this company. It is the only producer. As it stands, we are in no place to rise against him if he decides to keep on his current path."

"And what of Dust?"

"Dust. Only provided by the mines of the Schnee family, which I shouldn't have to state how I feel. Another monopoly, using slave labor in order to reap profits and trade with terrorists. I have looked into the certain Weiss Schnee during this last month, and can safely say that she has no part within this... Tension. As for what Dust is, I can only hypothesize without proper equipment. I feel it is a concentrated powder, perhaps of a gunpowder or a certain alloy that would oxidize in an explosion. Copper alloy within gunpowder could potentially harvest electrical currents, but I know of no substance that can absorb or release enough energy to create fire or ice. Fire could potentially be dried alcohol within the gunpowder, but I can't say."

"I'm afraid that isn't completely true. That is why I want you to study Dust with the school's laboratory. You will have full access to Dead World equipment. I want you to find out what this Dust is. With virtually no knowledge of 'Atomic Theory' in our database, I'm afraid you are the only mind we can hope for."

"Yes, Headmaster. Also, if I may speak freely."

"You always could. This isn't Atlas." He said, causing me to smile.

"I have been recently looking into the history of Remnant. Considering you have given me my own research lab, I feel it only natural to return the favor. As you know, there once was a place known as the Dead World. This was an ancient civilization, or rather, a series of civilizations that had been functioning under piece for several hundred years. Their advanced knowledge in the fields of science allowed for the creation of the very same airships and tech that we use today. However, I believe they advanced too far. In the field of Biology, more specifically Neurobiology, I feel they found the source of 'black' emotions such as the intent of murder, lust, intent to do evil, and so forth. With an advanced machine, they created a new breed of man without these bad traits. A perfect man, who could do no wrong."

"Intriguing."

"That's not all, sir. In fact, from what I remember of Raven's stories, it was only the beginning. It seems that the human body holds thousands of bacteria and viruses within us naturally, and actually can't function without them. When this virus was extracted from our minds, this... symbiotic virus, we simply threw it out in the wild, where it began to evolve. Well, you see, this is where history is blurred with the philosophy of a child's tale, Headmaster. It is said that Humanity was driven mad without their symbiotic partner of sin."

"How could that happen?"

"Well, you see, Mother always explained it like this. Imagine perfection. A world where no pain occurs and every day is always better than the next. You, being in this perfection, find yourself always looking to tomorrow, awaiting that even better day. Eventually you get bored and ignore the present, not caring about the perfection already in front of you. You forget how good good really is. Suffering is a way to counterbalance this. By showing you how bad bad can be, you learn how good good can be. I like the example Mother used. She would tell me that when she was a child, she would commonly scrape her knee. When she got hurt, she would cry and cry and cry until her mother held her in her arms and sung her a song. To the young Raven, that scraped knee was the worst pain imaginable. Now, after years of pain, we know that its just a scraped knee."

"I see..."

"This was the case of the Dead World. While the Lich Virus, as I call it, began to evolve to the point where it could control the biology of simple creatures like ants and inspire mutation, Humanity fell into insanity. We threw Heaven's Bomb after Heaven's Bomb at each other, razing our land and burning our people until only a small population was left. It was then, nearly a millennia later, that the Lich Virus had reached perfection. How a virus, with a simple biology, could evolve to such a complex state in such a short time is still to be determined. This, however, lead to the mass infection of the Dead World fauna, leading to the first Night of the Grimm."

"You could write a book about this and retire now, you know. At the mere age of eighteen, to think."

"Thank you. Now, if you find it acceptable, tell my about my mother." I said, causing him to grow silent. He set down his cup of coffee, locking his fingers and adjusting his green scarf.

"Raven was... a girl whom I knew well. Her, Glynda and I, along with James and Roman, were in a hunter group called ROJG, pronounced 'Rouge.' I'm afraid I can only truly tell you about her personality, something you must already know all too well." He said. I sighed, taking a seat in front of him and looking up at the grand clockwork, which ticked as he adjusted his glasses.

"Please do tell me. She and my brother were all I knew for ten years. They are almost all that matters to me." I said. He sighed, brushing back his white hair and taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, Raven was kind. Always tired and wanted to rest, so she was. Lazy, best put. Even so, she was a hard worker when needed and a diligent fighter. She had some of the cleanest skills I had ever seen."

"What of her Semblance?"

"She never could hurt a fly, unless it threatened something she cared about. If so, she would completely devolve into a mother bear and protect the thing she valued. I'd say it was her only fault." He said, dodging the question.

"It did get her killed." I said, looking at my lap.

'Even so, she helped raise you children, didn't she? I may not agree with what she did, stealing Forbidden Books and isolating herself from the Union in order to teach you, but she did. Now, look at you."

"Where are these Forbidden Books now?"

"Well, here's the thing. Books haven't been written on paper for the longest time. Those textbooks she owned were certainly illegal, but they weren't the Forbidden ones. Those were stored within Raven's mind."

"How?" I asked. He simply shrugged, leaning back into his chair and pushing himself around with his feet.

"I don't know. Dead World tech. Nobody of our world knows of the Anatomy, Physics, or Biology held within those Forbidden Books."

"Why are they Forbidden?" I asked. He smiled.

"No doubt for the very reason Roman is attacking dust and James is trying to create a super militia. Power. Such knowledge can create powers unrivaled by any living thing alone. Raven chose you because you had the intellect to process and control the knowledge of the Forbidden Books. You are our only copy. Without you, this country _will_ fall. Roman and James will undoubtedly have a war started, and Raven held more secrets than I think anyone can fully understand."

"I can say the very same for you, Ozpin. You say you're ignorant, but I call that a lie. Yang is a Child of Raven, yet why does she hate me? You know more than your alluding to, and I dislike it."

"Perhaps that is true. Still, some secrets are best left kept." He said, brushing aside his gray hair.

"As for the Forbidden Books, I can explain more. The government and the king, also known as the Union, is the only current owner of any Dead World knowledge, and the owner of both illegal books as well as the tech of the Forbidden Books. They force us to burn all other knowledge to create a monopoly of Dead World tech, thus securing their spot in power." He said with a sigh. "One day perhaps I can tell you all I know of this world. One day, perhaps you can do the same for me. Until then, you have a fire of curiosity boiling in you that could take over the world, if it wanted to. Not by blade, but by intuition. I will do everything in my power to kindle that flame." He said, causing me to nod. It seemed almost paradoxical for a feral child like me to have to use his head. Still, it was all I knew back in the Forest. Kindling the knowledge of my Mother and Vigilance was all that ever cared for me.

"Could you really bring your students to fight a war?" I asked, eyes focused.

"Funny, a friend of mine asked the very same thing. Do I? Yes, and they will. I do not fear for their physical safety, but rather their mental."

"And why is that?"

"As you propose, those children live in a world of perfection. They don't know the horrors you've experienced. And while they may laugh at you for it, one day they will be faced with a war that makes a dead mother and sibling look like child's play, as sorry as I am to say it. What will they do when they learn that all they knew was just the small pain of 'Raven's scraped knee'? What will they do when they learn the world they live in is a very dark place?"

"They will crack."

"They will burn."

I nodded, feeling the leather of the chair in my hand. Grimm leather, it was. Black, soft, yet easily moldable and oddly firm. It spoke wonders about the creature it spawned from, more than could ever be learned from just fighting them. They weren't soulless monsters, as much as people try to pretend they are. 'Aura' as the people call isn't a manifestation of the soul. To think like that would only lead to horrid ideologies, and already was. I noticed how Velvet was treated in class, just for being a certain race.

"And tell me, why does Ruby know nothing of Raven? Yang obviously does."

"That would be a question best asked to Raven or Yang, not me. I'm sorry, but I can't answer your question." He said. I popped my knuckles, sighing and looking up.

"Tell me one last thing before I head off to the lab."

"Of course."

I asked a question that had been eating away at me for years. How that small wound took down the great beast. Those familiar... smells, that gut feeling.

"Raven is still alive, isn't she?"

...

I walked down the halls, biting into my finger until blood was drawn. If his answer was true... No, that couldn't be true. It just wasn't possible. Biology and science don't function like that, and there isn't even a logic to it. That would mean everything I thought I knew about this world would have to be reworked again.

"Raven, alive?" He said, chuckling. "I have no doubt in my mind. She _is_ a Grimm, after all."

Grimm. Raven, being a Grimm? Impossible. Grimm were animals infected by the Lich virus, there is no way she can be of an animal.

But.

If she was infected with the Lich Virus, she would have to be that of a Grimm. Yet, could that even make sense?! What is the Lich Virus?!

I tore into the lab, immediately grabbing a syringe and tube, pulling up my arm. Taking the rubber band, I tied it around my arm and held it in my mouth. The other students leaped in surprise, staring at me in fear and suppressed curiosity. With a shaking hand, I plunged the needle into the inner side of my elbow, blood actively flowing from the needle into the beaker. I clicked off the test tube and inserted another one, some blood spilling on my forearm. If the Lich Virus was real, it would be in my blood. It would be the only way to explain how I received physical traits from Raven, despite her not being my real mother.

Unless, she was...

Then who was my father!?

I pulled the syringe out of my arm, tossing it aside and placing the cotton on the wound. I lowered my sleeve, taking the tubes over to the centrifuge. I plugged them in, watching them spin around and around. While they did so, I swabbed my spilled blood and placed it beneath the microscope to observe it.

If she was my mother, it would make sense how I survived that fire. I was never in it. Yet, she could have been at the destruction of Wrath. Who. Was. My. Father.

I observed what I immediately identified as red blood cells, white blood cells, and other natural particles in my blood. When I went feral, my bones literally came out of my skin. To do such a thing... actually, there is a way. There was a cancer, in the Forbidden Books, that would cause muscle tissue to turn to bone. Still, to think it could happen so fast..

Then, I saw it. Within my red blood pure black danced around my blood cells, slicing them apart and attacking them. It its separation from my body, it identified the fact that it was dying, and when feral. I watched in horror as it attacked the small tissue that had come out with the wound, literally reacting with the muscle and creating bone.

I felt sick. I was a Grimm. I was a monster. Everything I had known up until that point shattered that instant, causing me to fall down to the chair of the science lab in shock. Brushing back my light gray hair, I realized another thing. My father. My father, who fought at the Fall of Wrath. My Father, who knew who I was and protected my Mother on the inside. Without him, she surely would have been attacked for her forbidden knowledge.

My gray hair. My gold eyes. The way I loved coffee, and the way I loved clockwork and science. My dull, curious, and slightly spiteful personality.

_"What other secret's are you holding about my families history?" I asked. He smiled, brushing back his grey hair and patting my head, grabbing a fist full of my blank colored stems._

"Oh, a man can have secrets."

He spoke about secrets, brushing his own hair while grabbing my own.  
_..._

_"It's a room in an academy where some people live. I suppose you haven't had a dorm assigned yet, have you? No matter, tomorrow will begin initiation. Simply explore around until then. If you would like a place to sleep, you can certainly join my cabin for the time being. Blood should stay together."_

_"No thank you."_

Blood. At the time I thought he just meant to call us allies.

"Ah, yes. I suppose it should be considered a miracle you can speak, even though you are very intelligent."

Of course he would know. He was smart and so was Raven. He had no reason to believe otherwise.

My father was Ozpin.

...

I later would hack into the Beacon database and find his blood samples, automatically taken by every student and staff at this school. Tearing the data apart, I reformed a basic map of his DNA. Indeed, it was far too like mine to merely be a coincidence. Entering the data, I found a similar pattern ratio of sequences to Raven Branwen, my mother. She attended Beacon, so her blood samples were in the database along with Ozpin's.

My Father, Ozpin, who was on the same team as my mother. He had mentioned how much he cared for her, and had spoke of her in this far distant voice.

I dared not look at my squad for several days after that, despite their attempts.

"Mirror, are you okay?" Asked Rae from his bed. I sighed, looking up at the ceiling from beneath the covers.

"No." I answered honestly.

"What's wrong?" Asked Lily, from the bottom bunk beneath me.

"Could you handle it if you turned out to be a monster?"

"Are you getting bullied again? As squad leader, I will formally beat any guy up for you." Said Galius, in his usual attitude. A smile crossed my face, knowing that they meant well.

"No, its nothing like that. I'm just asking how you guys would react. Just my usual existential crisis." I said, causing Galius to visually nod.

"Of course you'd be havin' one of those. Well, I'll have you know that you are my partner, for better or for worst. Ain't nothing going to get me to leave you behind."

"Likewise." Said Lily and Rae, bringing a smile to my face.

"That's good to hear. Thanks." I said, returning to my tablet.

...

From there on, I took studying seriously. Everyday I would enter the lab and extract samplings of myself to scan under the microscope. Unfortunately, that study ended pretty quickly. Every time I extracted blood or muscle tissue from my living body, the Lich cells would identify that they have been cut off and go berserk, turning the sample to bone. After realizing that it may be a pointless study for the time being, I decided to move onto the study of Dust. Immediately after my first test, I understood that it wasn't gunpowder. Each Dust is slightly different, but they either share a chemical makeup of either silicon, boron, or carbon. Some contained trace samples of things like ammonia, copper, and phosphorus, which only confused me further. It was hard to convince the lab staff of my findings, and I had to teach them of atomic theory, but they confirmed my results. My only observation that I feel can be made at this point is that all dust is derived from potentially life-creating materials.

While carbon creates the life of Remnant, I do understand the atomic structure of both silicon and boron could potentially allow for the creation of complex molecules, and later, life. What this equates to... I cannot say. None of the materials within it should react in the way that they do, with the possible exception of the copper within the electric elemental dust. Now that I've explained the basis of atomic theory to the lab workers (I only know what an 18 year old could comprehend. I never understood things like quantum mechanics and such, despite my intense interest.) I feel I may have a team to assist me in my studies. At this moment, they are only researching the 'magical' properties of Dust.

On the micro scale, Dust seems impossible. In the case of Flame elemental Dust, it literally creates a carbohydrate in which case oxidizes in the process known as fire. How it creates matter... I do not know. It should go against the basis of science, that 'matter' and 'energy' cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. I'm having them bring in an electron microscope from the Dead World to study it at the atomic level.

My group worries with how much time I spend in the lab. I can see they worry for my lack of sleep, and rather disturbing levels of self-mutilation (for scientific purposes, of course.) I completely understand their concern, but I can't stop now. I'm beginning to see the nature of Dust, and thus, Semblances, and thus further, Aura. I was correct in the fact that Aura is _not_ just a manifestation of the soul, or at least how we would think of it.

Still, I try to joke with them occasionally in order to lighten the mood. Things like 'at least I don't have to worry about the stress turning my hair gray, am I right?'. But of all of them, I feel Galius is the most concerned. Perhaps its that Rae understands my endeavors, and Lily understands my passion. Galius, however, is the leader of the squad. He technically could order me to stop my studies and I'd be forced to listen. Luckily, he seems to be understanding as of now.

"Just... try to get some sleep, man. Try to come back to the dorms soon, okay?" He had told me early in the morning (or late at night, in my perspective.) It seemed that was the only condition of our relationship. I keep up basic care of my body (no more than I had to within the Forest), and I'll be allowed to continue my research.

Ozpin has grown distant as well. I know that he figured out about the hack I performed, and likely noticed how I compared his blood samples to that of myself and Raven. I do wish I could talk to him, if nothing else than to confirm my suspicion. Even still, its just so much more... natural in the lab. When I'm with my team, I feel antsy to get back into my research and find out what the hell is going on. When I pass the Headmaster in the halls, I find myself cowering away from his gaze.

That was until he called me into his office once again.

I slowly entered the room, my heart beating a thousand times a minute.

"Take a seat, Mirror."

I did as he suggested, sitting down within the comfy leather of an animal I still had yet to see. So much had been uncovered in my studies, yet I still knew so little.

"What is it... Ozpin?" I said, tempted to use the word 'Father' or 'Dad.' Still, I bit my tongue and nearly slapped myself at the childish thought.

"Please, just drop the act. Its uncomfortable to watch." He said, sighing back in his chair.

"Will you... tell me how it happened... Dad?" I asked, not meeting his gaze. He sighed, taking a white cup and handing it to me. I took it in my hands as he rose and grabbed the steaming pitcher of coffee, pouring me a cup. He gently set down three creams, flashing a gentle and subtle smile. I tried to return the notion, pouring in the creams and stirring it with the straw.

"I can't say I'm impressed that you figured it out, if for no other reason than that it was inevitable." He said with a sigh, taking a sip of his drink. His hand gripped his cane, tapping the floor with it gently. The soft ticking of the clock was all the noise that hung in the air, for a few moments. Quietly, I sipped my coffee and leaned back in my chair.

"Raven was... beautiful. Her and I had been paired in initiation, and had immediately kicked it off. Our chemistry was undeniable, even if only in the battlefield. The way her blows guarded mine, and the way mine in turn guarded hers... Its nostalgic to think about. It wasn't long I told the girl how I felt. On that day, I went straight up to that silent girl and said in a tone one setting too loud 'Will you do me the honor of going to the dance with me!'." He said, chuckling and staring off into space. "Oh, how she blushed. Yet, even with me humiliating both of us, she said yes. That very dance I asked her to dance with me, and we kissed." He said, causing me to smile. I remember how children are supposed to act disgusted when hearing about their parents kiss, but I felt none of that.

"We became a couple after that, soon graduating from Beacon and moving on to bigger things. We still stayed in touch, though. Enough that it was a probably a long distance relationship. It was on graduation night that... well, roughly nine months after graduation, she had a child whom she named 'Vigilance'. She, knowing that she wasn't stable, fled to the country. We didn't know about the 'Lich Virus' back then, only that she had the blood of a Grimm. On her way, she managed to steal a copy of the Forbidden Books and place it within herself as a biological copy. Technically, she stole two." He said with a smirk. "I went to go retrieve that copy, all those years ago. It turns out, Vigilance wasn't her only child. In her birth, she had twins."

"Twins?" I said in surprise. I knew Vigilance was my age, but I thought that was because we weren't blood related, and because I was just the same age when Raven took me from that fire.

"When I came to her cabin so deep in those woods, she told me she didn't have it. When I asked what she meant, she simply said that it was within you." He said, turning up memories that I had since lost to time.

_"Honey, do you see this little thing?" She said, holding out a small metal device. I took it in my hand, scanning it and holding up to the light with my childishly small hands._

_"Yes, Mommy. What is it?" I asked, giving it back to her. She smiled, patting me on my head and gently kissing my forehead._

_"Its sort of like a book. I'm going to put this right in your neck." She said, playfully tapping the nape of my neck. I giggled, mostly because her touch tickled._

_"Really? Will I be super smart?" I asked, thinking of it as a super power._

_"Sort of, honey. You are already smart, but this will help you remember all~ that information." She said, giving a slight tune to the word 'all' . "I just got to give you a small shot and you'll fall asleep, okay? It won't hurt at all, but you have to be strong for Mommy." She said, a small syringe in her hand. Raven gently touched the scalpel, looking out the window to my brother who had been practicing._

_"Okay Mommy, I'll be strong for you." I said, pulling up my sleeve._

_"I'll count to three, okay? One, two, three!" She said, sticking the needle into my shoulder. I winced, tears rising to my face, but I didn't cry. Instantly, sleep flooded over me, and my memories drifted away._

"So she did." I said, feeling weak from the memory. He nodded, seeing that I probably had a flashback. I had been told I grow distant when thinking of my past or my research, so it wouldn't be so ridiculous to think.

"She told me that to take the Forbidden Books back was not only to kill her, but my son. As much as I knew it was needed, I left her for Beacon and told nothing of the Council of the Union, only that they had been slaughtered by Grimm. Unfortunately, by the time I had made that observation, it became a reality. My scouts sent word that a X-Class Grimm had attacked the cabin, leaving only one survivor. They, not knowing any better, reported this to the Union." He said, obviously angry at their decision. "So I had to screw the facts. I explained that the Books had been placed within Vigilance, the twin. They agreed to let you go, but only if I kept a close eye on you until you reached maturity. From then, if you showed no 'evidence', I was to take you back to Beacon and train you as any other orphan who reached maturity." He said, causing me to nod.

"But I do have the books, don't I?"

"Certainly. I checked with some x-rays on the air ship. There certainly is a device attached to your brain, helping in memorization and data storage. If the Union learned of this, they would demand that I extract the Book, as it would already be filled with all the knowledge we need."

"Thank you for that."

"Its only natural. You have become the physical body of that Book, its hand to paint its knowledge. To take the Book from you was to extract pointless knowledge that no one could use." He said, shortly before clearing his throat. "That, and that you are my son."

I smiled, taking a sip of my coffee. Ozpin was my father... it was an oddly warm thought. All my life, I never knew my Dad. Raven would never speak of them, and always use the excuse of finding me in the ashes of Wrath.

"Did Wrath really fall?"

"Yes. All the outer cities fell shortly after your birth. It was in that Night of Grimm that your mother changed. Not with the virus, she already had that. She learned something that nobody else knew, and that terrified her. That was when she stole the books and fled. As we speak, I'm having team RWBY Oobleck to inspect the ruins. Roman also is suspected to be hatching some sort of plan from the Ruins of Wrath, but I'm afraid I know nothing about it."

"Roman sees something in this that we don't."

"Indeed. I dare say that he knows more about this world of Remnant than James Ironwood. After all, he does have the means of stealing and reproducing entire Mechs of Ironwood Production. Not only that, but he's taking advantage of the Faunus' struggles with racism. That' man's silver tongue can be nothing good."

"What does he even want?"

"What does every villian like him want? Money? Women? Power? He's a man tainted by Greed." He said, but I didn't buy it. Maybe that truly was what Oz- Dad thought, but I don't think it was the full truth. I have never met Roman, be it casually or on the battlefield, but I don't think that was it.

"And what about Cinder? Where does she play into this?"

"Its rather obvious that they do not have a partnership. Cinder is using Roman as a means to an end, a puppet in an even larger puzzle."

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"Like what?" He said, chuckling.

"Cut them at their roots. They have power off two things, right? Their army and their tech. We are working on tech, so lets cut up there army."

"With whom? Our students?"

"No, of course not. I'm referring to cutting their ties with Roman. He's currently in league with the White Fang, right? We need to disband it."

"Do you know how complex that actually is?"

"Of course, but hear me out. The White Fang's main enemy is the Schnee company, correct? We need to take an elective from that company and a Faunus, and pair them up together. If we can show that they can get along, we could potentially shed the mindset of irrational prejudice."

"What you are suggesting is-"

"Not only that, but we go to the Schnee company. We find a better way of mining Dust, and promise that if they stop using slave labor and their harsh treatment of the Faunus, we stop the Terrorist attacks. That way, their stock stops being stolen and they don't have to work so hard to cover it up. See, its a feedback loop currently. Roman steals Dust, causing the Schnee to overwork their Faunus and slaves, causing them to rise up, giving Roman an army to steal more Dust and repeat the process. I feel, that by using Weiss and Velvet, we can convince her family to stop, even if just for a short period of time. From then, we make sure to guard their trades with our Students as a mission, and then watch the price of Dust drop. We'll need to talk to the Union and alert them to the possible heavy economic hit, but we should be good. After that, the treatment should be lifted, thus throwing a wrench in White Fang's plans. I know the leaders of that group really are only using the racism as an excuse, but their followers aren't. If we can convince the masses to join a new political faction, we may be able to stop White Fang. It would be a long and hard endeavor, but its doable."

"I'm... impressed." He said, causing my face to grow hot.

"I-It's nothing, really."

...

And with that, I returned to the lab. We, Beacon, had a plan of attack. Ozpin would no doubt be calling Velvet and Weiss back after the mission, but that could be a few days away. Instead, I focused on my Biological research. Knife in hand, I carefully cut open my forearm and pinned the skin open, taking the microscope and looking at it. It would be very hard to study without a backlight, but it would be doable.

Interesting... the viruses seem to just be functioning as red blood cells... Could they be cancer cells? Maybe there are different types of cells. It would make sense, as the cancerous blood cells could become the bone that formed the weapons and armor, while another formed brain cells and took over the animals body.

But in order for that to happen, there must be a Lich Stem Cell, a blank cell that could evolve into anythi-

There it was. A black Stem Cell. How did I know? I watched as it dyed itself red and filled my wound, changing itself into muscle cells, and soon, skin cells. The skin I pulled open withered away as my wound regenerated, completely new.

To regenerate... That wound on Raven wouldn't have been fatal, just like Ozpin said. As long as the cells are connected to the main body, they can completely regenerate serious wounds...

"Mirror!" Lily shouted.

"What?" I shouted back, pulling down my sleeve.

"Downtowns under attack! Roman rammed a train into the center, and Grimm are flooding into the city!"


	5. Chapter 5

I looked down upon the flaming city, Grimm ravaging the city like it was food. Team RWBY and JNPR leaped around visually, striking and attacking Grimm as they flooded from the flaming hole that Roman had created.

"Stay close, but push upwards. We need to regroup." Ordered Galius, pulling out his weapon. I did the same, popping a new clip within my rifle and aiming down the street. There, several Beowolves set there eyes on us, clearly with the intent to kill. I let my blood boil, my hair turning black and bones clattering to form a mask over my face. The armor wrapped around my hands and sharpened my fingers to claws, which made a cracking sound as their grip around the rifle tightened.

The Beowolf leaped into the air with a growl, only to meet the storm of bullets that would tear through its skull in a spill of crimson liquid petals. He howled, obviously not completely dead, grabbing my arm and biting into my flesh. A scream of pain escaped my throat as the muscle fiber that his teeth sunk into hardened and formed bone, the skin around it turning a vile black. My hand left the trigger of the rifle and stabbed under its jaw, pulling out the gore of its head and forcing it to drop dead.

I clicked open my weapon, setting my eyes set on the next two dogs. My teammates flew around the air, striking down their enemies with an easy that I found myself envious of.

The Beowolves leaped into the air, the blade of my sword slicing through one and causing the shaft to hit the other. It screeched in pain, rolling on the ground and leaping to attack. I fell to my back, kicking upwards and thrusting myself upwards into the air.

Grabbing the dead Beowolf, I thrust it into the others, holding out my armored hand. Bone formed into spikes on my knuckles, firing like arrows into the Grimm and shattering their skull armor. They howled, leaping into play. I found myself sliding on an armored knee as the blade of my forearm literally turned into one, slicing open the Beowolf's stomach as it floated in the air.

My blood burned with an anger that I barely could contain, thinking about the teeth sunken into the flesh of my brother's stomach and the torn stomach of my mother. I attacked Beowolf after Beowolf, tearing and slashing limb from limb with no end in sight as they flooded in.

_Blood. Tooth and Nail... Eat..._

A bloodlust leaked into my system like adrenaline, causing my limbs to twitch in pure excitement and hunger. I winced in pain as the jaw of a Beowolf enclosed itself around my arm, cracking through my bone. Another bit into my leg, causing me to drop to my knee and stab my staff into the ground for support.

_You hurt! You HURT!_

I punched into the Beowolf's skull, cracking it open and sending splinters of bone in every direction.

_It.. hurts... It... hurts..._

The pain grew much as Beowolf after Beowolf bit into me, laying on my body and weighing me down. Blood of beasts and man mixed beneath my destroyed body as they tore the bone from my skin, attempting to get to the raw tissue beneath.

_Fight... or flight. Fight, or flight. I can't fight... I will flight._

_"GYAAAH!"_ A scream left my throat as all sense in my mind completely left me, thousands of blades stabbing through my skin and slashing into the Grimm. No, it wasn't bone that was attacking those monsters. My team had sliced through the Beowolves like they were butter, clearing them off of me as if they were mere child's play.

_They.. think they are better than me? That I can't handle those monsters?! I AM A GRIMM!_

My blood dyed black as my back shook violently, blood openly flowing from the torn fabric. I felt my shoulder blades shatter and reform as long limbs stretched from my shoulders, a similar appendage protruding from my tail bone. I watched with a mindless smirk as tissue generated over the bone and hardened to bone, clicking as I moved the appendage. The mask I wore clicked as it sharpened further, dying my vision red.

"Mirror?! Are you okay?! What's wrong!" Shouted Rae, who continued fighting without stop. They think they are so much better?! _I_ am the strongest! _I _am at the top of the food chain!

My limbs flapped, now complete with feathers. I felt my body lift off the ground, my tendons spilling from my right arm and solidifying into a blade.

_sssss..._

The slithering of a snake filled my ear drums as a monster of a Grimm raised its head. It was a King Taijitu, its twin heads glancing at me with evil eyes. They wished for my blood to paint the dirt and dye its second head white, I would feel it.

_"Sssso, Child of Grimm, You give into ussss..." _I felt it hiss. With a roar, I fly forward and meet its fang with my blade, causing a spark and a splinter to shatter from its bone. The snake hissed, slamming its tail down for my head. I dodged it and struck its scales, cracking them apart and inserting my blade within the bloodied flesh of the monster. It hissed in pain, slamming its tail horizontally. I grabbed the tail, stopping and absorbing its momentum and cracking the bones of my arms.

"_PAIN!"_

_"Come now, ssssweet child. Join usss in the shadowssss..."_

I slashed into its head, using a flap of my wings to stay in the air. The snake's right head bit forward, cracking the bone of the limb and taking off my right wing. I fell, growling and rolling away from the smashing tail.

"Give.. Give them back!"

_"Die now, sssweet child. You're exissstence isss now invalidated." _It spoke in a tongue I barely understood. I fell deeper into my rage, the monster slamming its tail into my back and cracking the wing clean off. A scream of pain erupted from my throat as I fell to all fours, pushing myself up with my hands.

_"Nevermore will you ssstalk the fields of death, sssmall pup. Die without knowing your place."_

It hissed, attacking again. Its head slammed down, wrapping around me and swallowing me whole. I felt the muscles of its stomach contort and contract, swallowing me down its right head. The virus within me boiled in anger, knowing I was doomed and entering a perfect berserk.

I felt my skin tear away as bone protruded from every portion of the body and slicing into the snake of a Grimm. I thrashed around, causing the bladed bone to tear away at the throat, just enough for a ray of sunshine to fill my eyes.

_"G-Guahh... Child...?!" _It hissed. "Rot! Decay for all I care! Die!"

The smell returned, that gut feeling! I could feel her! Give her back to me! Where is my mother?! GIVE HER BACK!

I looked at the left head as the right hung limp, only held on by thin strands of tissue and scales. It hissed, surging forward and baring its fangs. I grabbed the two teeth as my legs cracked into the concrete, absorbing the impact.

_"Do you honesssstly think you can resstore usss?! You, that woman, and all her children can rot! They know nothing of the Grimm! We should have never followed her here!"_

I bit my lip in anger underneath my mask, cracking off the fangs of the monster and thrusting them back into the base of its skull, killing it instantly. With a heavy breath, I cracked through its skin and appeared at the other side. Nearly bested by a mere King Taijitu, I was ashamed to admit. My blood cooled and sizzled, Coco firing her large Gatling gun in the center of the city. Grimm rained down from the sky in petals of blood as my body twitched violently, shedding unneeded bone and returning others. My mask fell from my face in a mist of smoke, causing me to drop to my knees.

"Mirror!" Galius shouted, leaping over to me. "What the hell happened? I couldn't get through to you!"

"I... I don't know..." I muttered, gripping my head in my hands. My hair returned to its white coloration, my skin still somewhat torn from the creation of bone. I looked into his soft and concerned eyes as he wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

"You're hurt."

"I... am?" I said, groggily looking at my torn calf. It hissed as black substance boiled on its muscle tissue, slowly regenerating.

"No duh!" He said, waving my team over. They winced as they approached, each carefully lowering me into the grass.

"Oh god, is he okay?" Lily asked, placing her hands over her mouth in shock.

"Coco's covering us, so we're okay. Do we have any medical supplies?"

"I have a small medkit, but it only has bandages and some water." Rae said, falling to a knee and reaching into the bag that hung from his thigh.

"What is going on with his leg?"

They all asked in fear and confusion, looking at my damaged body. I winced as they held me up, handing me a cup of water.

"You need to drink some water, Mirror. Lily, get a medic!"

"Its... not needed. My Lich Stem Cells should be regenerating all malicious tissue and..." I said, trailing off.

"Lich, what? Mirror, your delusional. Drink!" He said, placing the bottle within my mouth. I tossed it aside, rolling over and pulling myself up. The wound on my leg burned, and wouldn't yet let me move it.

"Mirror!" One of them shouted, tugging at my leg.

But I saw her. A girl, whose hair was half pink and half brown. Her height was that of a child, but she was completely of age. Her and an orange haired man leaped from one building into another. I watched as a woman in black and red leaped after them. For a second, I thought it was Ruby, but then I noticed the bone mask on her face. The familiar smell. Raven. All those scents and instincts had proven correct in the short second I had saw her. It was by then, with a hissing wound on my thigh, that I stood up on my remaining leg. I grabbed my sword from the ground and used it as a cane, hobbling forward. My team grabbed my arm, but I thrust them away.

"I order you to stop!"

The words froze me, causing me to slowly turn my weakened gaze at him. His brow was furrowed in anger and concern, his lip quivering slightly.

"Just stop. All of it, just stop. The tests, the self-mutilation, the isolation, just stop. That's an order."

"Galius..." I muttered, but it had no effect. Rae and Lily joined him by his side, glancing at my weakened state. It was humiliating. All this only from some Beowolves and a King Taijitu. I chuckled as I fell back to one knee, my world fading away.

...

I had woken up with a warm yet damp towel on my forehead, my eyes never managing to find focus on the ceiling above. There, the soft beeping of Dead World tech signified my ever beating heart, the only true sign that I was alive. The only sign that I was human. I glanced down at my knuckles, still somewhat torn from the bone and muscle that had torn its what through the skin. Glancing to my left, I was surprised to see Galius leaning in the visitors chair, fast asleep. His slight 'poofing' of a snore brought a smile to my face. Such care from a team leader is rarely seen so I hear.

"Galius." I said, in an attempt to wake him up. He jumped, as if his slumber had been much lighter than I originally thought. His soft gaze focused on me, a smile brought to his face.

"Your awake."

"Hell yeah." I said, trying to sound energetic. To be honest, I was nowhere near that level of health. My muscles were weak and felt withered, despite the Lich cells actively repairing them.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Mirror. You gave us quite a scare. On of the medics had to put you down and start surgery to remove all that bone and shit from your shoulders. What the hell even happened? Are you sure that thing is a Semblance?"

"Well, I guess I might as well come clean. Probably not. Grimm can't use Semblances, and that's what I am."

"...What?"

"I have the same gunk inside me that turned all the Dead World animals into Grimm. I'm a monster, Galius." I said, my smile drooping from a frown. "So forget about me. Kill me right here, whatever. I'm a danger to Beacon as it stands."

"Dude, I don't mean to sound like an ass, but you barely took down a King Taijitu. I'm sure we'll get along just fine." He said, sparking a glare from me.

"You definitely sound like an ass, Gale."

"Gale?"

"Galius is too hard to say." I said, causing him to chuckle slightly. He rose, patting my shoulder and glancing over at the heart monitor.

"Anyways, its not like any of us first years could handle a King Taijitu alone. That's why we have teams, to eliminate those threats."

"How long has it been since I blacked out?" I asked, looking at the heart monitor as it beeped slowly.

"Just a few days. Oh, that reminds me. Over the last few days, your scientist buddies told me they hit the jackpot and to hand you this." He said, grabbing a file from his chair. It read 'Science of Dust and Aura, confirming hypothesis of Mirror Black.'

"No way... The confirmed my hypothesis? That would nearly disprove physics as we- I knew it." I said, opening the file and reading its contents. Gently placing my shaking and weak finger against the black text, I began to read.

_Our recent experiments on the atomic level do indeed confirm the 'pattern' theory proposed by first year Mirror Black. His hypothesis was as follows. While Atomic theory, as is described in his knowledge, is usually classified by reactions, it should be noted that the universe may not actually function on physical contact. After all, atoms never actually touch. If they did, they likely would spark a nuclear reaction. That only begs the question, 'how do atoms interact?' In order to understand Aura and Dust, we must know this. The answer is through the communication of atoms. The proposed method has been tested intensely tested and proven, through mathematical means as well as through observation. _

_Atoms had been proven to function on a code. This code, much like the code in a computer, never actually has an existence. It simply is an idea that applies logic to the program. That is to say, there is no particle for this code. It simply is part of the universe. Just like coding, atoms function on pattern. Just as a '01000001' may mean 'a' in binary, a certain pattern can translate over in atoms. While the exact position of clashing needed to spark reactions was only hypothesized to be needed because of electron positioning, it turns out it actually functions because the specific position is a pattern. This means of data communication can also be translated into the forces of gravity, strong force, weak force, and electromagnetic radiation._

"What does it say? I don't understand." Said Gale, who furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Basically, the world functions on patterns. You don't know what atoms are, but they are basically really small things. They can mix slightly, but people thought they did that by bumping. It turns out, they actually do it by talking to each other, like we are doing right now. I'm communicating the info of this document without having to touch you. This method of talking also is what makes gravity, light, and everything else."

_Now, onto aura. In order to understand Aura, we first must shed our current frame of mind. We no longer can thing of the human as one individual being. They, in truth, are a collection of thousands of cells, each completely living on there own. Now, with our current data, this is what we believe to be 'Aura'. The complex arrangements of cells or even the atoms within the human body acts as a pattern on its own. That is to say, the entire human body basically acts as a 'letter', or some complete section of language within the code of the universe. A completely unique code. This would explain why no Aura truly manifests in the same way. _

"Its saying that we are basically our own word in a larger language. Our Aura is our stamp, the thing that makes us unique. It isn't something that can be touched, but rather part of the non existent code."

_As for the Semblances, they are a literal continuation of this code. If we were to use our example from earlier, where '01000001' means a, then this would be the case. In order to activate a semblance, the mind activates a complex coding with quantum states, thus creating the pattern '0100-'. That is to say, part of the code. The universe will then morph to finish the pattern, adding the '0001'. This '0001' can be the ice, fire, and so forth we are used to. How it does this is limited to speculation, considering matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. Our current hypothesis is that Entropy is the fuel. _

"Entropy?"

"When a reaction on the atomic scale happens, like making salt or something, a little of the energy used in the reaction is burned away as heat. Wasted, like trash."

_This process would convert Entropy back into a usable form of energy. That energy, in turn, could then be converted to matter (like the carbohydrates and methanol burning in summoned fire, or the water atoms freezing in summoned ice, or even the copper in summoned lightning.) This process would act as a counterbalance to the destructive nature of entropy._

"Basically, if what they say is true, they're recycling the trash of the universe."

_As for the nature of Dust, our knowledge is pressed. We know that the Dust is made out of elements that could potentially create life. This would mean in the reaction that 'uses' Dust, it would create a living molecule just long enough to use a code to create a Semblance. The fire, Ice and other things we see as a result of Dust is a literal dying breath of a creature who never lived long enough to know what he was._

"I... I don't need an explanation for that. What the hell." Said Gale.

"Gale, can you leave me to rest for a bit? I need to think this over."

"Uh, sure." He said, taking his things and waving me goodbye. I smiled and waved back, placing my hand against my chin in thought. If this was true, then my Semblance could indeed be a Semblance. Although it is true muscle can turn to bone in a cancer, it would be nigh impossible to do at such a speed, especially to form complex shapes like wings.

But, if that were true, Grimm would be able to use Semblances. Not only that, but all living things could.

I.. I need to see Yang.

She understood. If nothing else, she was a child of Raven.

I looked outside to the dark sky, tearing the IVs and heart monitors from my chest. The monitor instantly flat lined, signifying my 'death.' I stumbled to the window, grabbing my clothes from the seat and pulling it open. I leaped to the ceiling beside it, rolling harshly.

I... needed... to be stronger...

Now...

Please...

I screamed into my nerves, begging for my Lich part to listen to me just for once. We... We could die if we didn't get stronger.

That Grimm, it was talking to me. It had intelligence. The attack... how did the Grimm know to follow the tunnel all the way down? They continued to flood out, even after the noise of the explosions stopped... No, there was a plan. The Grimm were smart, they knew what to do.

Raven...

My muscles twitched as I shed my hospital uniform, changing into my outfit and stumbling forward.

Smell..

I smelled something.

My inner Grimm howled at the familiarity.

Raven. Raven was here. Mother... Yang, she was there too. It was so... faint. Even so, my Semblance burned with recognition.

I leaped into the air, my body once again taking over my mind. I let it, my hair dying black as I leaped from rooftop to rooftop, landing on the concrete wall of the main building of beacon.

Smell... I smell her... Yang...

My vision and hearing sharpened, painting a picture of the outside world. Every flower in the dark glowed like a spec of light, every cricket humming with a glow. There, at the base of the tower, in the dead of night, I saw her.

Yang.

Yang walked towards the centerpiece with power in each step, her eyes focused. There, in the seeming blink of an eye, she appeared. Her hair was a beautiful black, her face covered with the bone mask of a Grimm. A tail hung from her hip bone, retreating from the outfit I had known her wear.

Raven.

"Who are you?" She said, her eyes red aglow. So she truly didn't know of Raven.

She gently reached up, removing her mask. The soft, young face of my mother glowed throughout the night, her eyes glowing a fierce crimson in the night. My heart nearly stopped right there, but I gripped the wall of Beacon with my boned claws.

"Yang, we have a lot to talk about." She said, putting her mask down and looking up and looking straight at me.

"As do we, Mirror."


	6. Chapter 6

It was a night of dark when I had met her, for the first time since my darkest memory. She, Raven, Mother, Grimm, stood before me with the same loving face she raised me with, that she taught me with. Yang, the child I never knew of, stood on the other side of her, almost ready to fight.

"Mirror, was it? I want answers, now." Yang said, her eyes glowing red.

"Why? Isn't it obvious?" I said, still in a daze. "Don't you remember?"

"I... I.. no, I don't. I remember someone... sending me away, and talked about her children. They were young, when Ruby and I lived there, but I just can't remember..." She said, gripping her head.

"How did you find her if you don't know who she is?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

"I take midnight walks with my team, every now and again. I got the habit from Ruby. I noticed her leaping around and decided to chase her."

"This is Raven, my mother." I said Raven silently observing us. She placed her mask away, resting her arm of the sheathe of her blade.

"Yang, you are my niece, along with Ruby. You are my daughter, the generation before Mirror and..." She paused, lowering her gaze. "Ruby is adopted, her father unknown. I gave you two to Qrow, my brother, to be raised. It was too dangerous to keep you there, especially after I had Mirror."

"But Ozpin is my father." I said. Raven nodded.

"He is indeed. When I was young, I attended Signal Academy for a few years. I was no more than 16 at the time, and... got involved with the teacher there, Yang's father. After having her, I attempted to graduate, but didn't meet the requirements. So, knowing I had to leave, I stole the Forbidden Books and fled to the wilderness, where I found Ruby."

"What?"

"Ruby was a child when her mother died, and I had to adopt her. After two years, I gave my children to my brother in the city, and he raised you two. I then had Mirror and his brother."

"Brother?" Yang asked.

"Dead." I said.

"..."

"I assume Mirror is the one with the most questions, considering I likely answered most of your, Yang."

"What... are we? What are the Grimm?"

"I told you." She said simply.

"That doesn't count! You have been suppressing our memories! I don't know how, but you have been." I said angrily.

"And not knowing angers you?" She asked, raising a brow.

"Hell yeah!" I said, causing her to smile painfully. She took a seat on the ground, crossing her legs.

"What if those soulless creatures that we thought were monsters were actually intelligent? What if they made cities, had families, and even fought wars like us?" She said, placing her mask on the ground. Her fingers gently brushed against the bone and blood paint, her eyes focused on it's.

"..."

"You both know that the Grimm aren't mindless. The smart ones avoid us, and the weak ones are too dumb to know better."

"Then you are... Dar." I said, knowing the word was ingrained in my past somehow. She nodded.

"I am the leader of a faction of Grimm known as Blackwood. We, one of the oldest blood-packs of Grimm, have always said that we should live in peace with humanity. The first and second Night of the Grimm were due to a misunderstanding, and we felt remorse for it."

"You... are a Grimm?" Yang asked.

"Being a Grimm is as simple as being infected with a Lich Virus, likely created by the humans of the Dead World." I said.

"Are you telling me that I'm a child of rape and a cultist? Not only that, but I'm a child of a monster?" Yang asked, furious. Her eyes glowed red

"We aren't evil. We have knowledge of the Dead World, and what's happened since. All we want is to coexist with Humanity."

"What other factions are there?" I asked. She sighed, looking over at Yang with worried eyes. The blonde girl tore her gaze away, sickened with the sight in front of her.

"There are three major factions at this moment. Graynest, Phantomclaw, and Blackwood. The Grays of Graynest simply wish to dominate humanity due to the previous bad blood of the Nights of the Grimm. The Phantomclaws, on the other hand, wish to join with Hunterkind."

"Join?" Yang asked.

"That's how I'd explain it to you. Mirror, to you, I'd describe it as 'infect.'"

"They wish to convert humanity into Grimm, like you and I."

"Yes. Once, a long time ago, all humans were Grimm. We committed evil, but also good. We were black and white. Now, when we removed that evil, we became gray. The moment we extracted that genome from our dna, we changed. Similarly, that bad DNA sequence, responsible for much of feral and evil thought, evolved into a virus. Or maybe it didn't, maybe some terrorists adapted the Lich DNA into a biological weapon. Either way, it worked. All of the Dead World Fauna was infected, and we along with it. Scared to return to our original state, we created a new breed of man more resistant to the virus."

"The Hunters."

"Exactly. The Faunus were a trial to avoid infection by becoming more beast-like. By dehumanizing our genome more to avoid the human stands. To fight fire with fire. It worked, but not as much as the creation of the Hunters did." She said, Yang observing silently. "The First Night of the Grimm couldn't have been avoided. No Grimm was old enough to know the effects of the actions. It would be like a toddler killing someone. Its just so... irrelevant, trying to blame the toddler. They probably won't even remember what they did."

"And the second Night?"

"Humanity was understandable angry about the first night, as it basically destroyed civilization as we knew it. But, we formed the outwards cities and created Cardinal, and everything was made better again. The King went out to discuss a peace treaty, meeting the Alpha to discuss various terms."

"The Alpha?" Yang asked. Raven nodded.

"The once proud Leader of Grimm. However now he leads Graynest. When the king went into the Nest Throne, the newborn son of the Alpha attacked the King. As is mentioned, it was simply a lack of intelligence due to age. If anything, the cub was only trying to play. Still, after getting severely wounded, the King and his guards killed the heir, which didn't sit well with the Alpha. He rallied his forces and stormed the outer cities in the Second Night."

"And you expect us to believe this shit?" Yang yelled. "You aren't my mother! There isn't any Alpha. The Grimm are monsters!"

"Could you say the same thing about the Faunus?" Raven asked, locking her gaze.

"...What?"

"I said, are the faunus _monsters _to you? Are they vile!?" She said, her voice filled with anger. Yang furrowed her brow, her lip twitching in anger.

"Of course not! Faunus aren't Grimm! You said so yourself, the Grimm weren't created by man."

"Why are you using my story as evidence if you don't believe it?" Raven asked.

"That's..."

"Yang, you know its true. I don't know if you have a Forbidden Book planted inside of you, but you grew up with Raven."

"That's-"

"Yang, trust me." I said. She bit her lip, sitting back down.

"How does Humanities current situation plan into this? What about Cinder, Neo, Torchwick, Ironwood, and everyone else." I said. Raven sighed.

"Cinder is Qrow's adopted sister, and helped in raising Ruby and Yang. She also was Ozpin's first... partner. I do not know what Neo is, but likely a synthetic, like Penny."

"Penny?" I asked.

"A girl made by Torchwick, apparently." Yang said.

"I'll need to see this girl." I noted. Raven nodded, returning to her explanation.

"Torchwick was a student in our year, and later would steal a bunch of illegal textbooks." Forbidden Books are the devices planted within my mind, Hidden Books are simply illegal textbooks. "There, he learned of the Grimm's nature. Who he is? He's best summarized as the human equal to Phantomclaw. He's a cultist who thinks we should merge with the Grimm yet again. There is a large chance he even is in league with them. At this moment, he's simply twisting the public with White Fang into following him."

"What?" Yang asked in surprise. Raven nodded.

"As for Ironwood, its not that simple. Ironwood seems to be on our side. I say it lightly, as he isn't a good man. He's reaping profits, building up an army for war, and is creating a monopoly so great that the masses won't be able to do anything. Still, he, at this moment, is on the side of coexisting. That being said, I have no doubt he could change at any moment."

"What about the army?"

"He is making an army in preparation to defend against Graynest and Phantomclaw forces, so he claims. I honestly do not doubt him, but we must tread lightly."

"And is he in league wit the King? Where does he stand in all of this?"

"The King is on the side of extermination, blinded by his mauling. I can't speak ill of him, as our Alpha and Beta are acting much the same way."

"Beta?"

"Queen."

"Then why are you here? What benefit did you recieve coming here? Who attacked downtown?"

"The Graynest were the ones who attacked the town. We had a falling out, as they were temporarily allied with us. They wanted to ally with Roman, but our forces disagreed. This lead to me having to try to stop the train, and causing many of our own members to join them."

"Why are you here, now." I asked.

She smiled, painfully.

Tears filling her eyes.

"I can't see my children?"

My throat. I didn't realize how tight it was until this moment. Yang seemed to be acting the same, swallowing hard.

"Mother..." I said, tears now filling my eyes.

"Yes, little cub?"

I leaning in and wrapped my arms around her, burying my head into her shoulders. She chuckled happily but with emotion, taking me into her arms just as she did all those years ago.

"I've... missed you."


	7. Chapter 7

Raven stayed with us. My mother stayed.

It was on the next day, in the light of the bright dawn, that I took her to meet her partner. We entered the familiar Headmaster's room, Ozpin staring in silence.

"Dad, this is Mom." I said.

"Hi, Oz. It's been too long." She said, looking to Ozpin. He stood in shock, thousands of emotions filling his face as he rose. He limped over to her, pressing his weight into the cane and looked into her eyes. She removed her mask, gently placing it on her hip and giving him a smile.

"I... wondered if you were dead." He said, causing her to laugh.

"Just from that? 'Tis but a flesh wound." She said, her eyes watering slightly.

She had her stomach torn open, organs falling out. 'Tis but the opposite.

"Of course, Of course. I still worried about you." He said, brushing the notion aside and trying to suppress his smile.

"You _were_ the worrywort of the team. Always scared when I'd get all scratched up, even though I could heal better than anyone else in Beacon." Raven said, rolling her eyes.

"Could you blame me?" He said, the door creaking open.

"Headmaster Ozpin, I grabbed the files you resque-" Glynda walked in, freezing as her gaze locked with my Mother. The file she was carrying fell from her hands, spilling papers onto the floor as she took a step back.

"Raven." She said, looking as if she'd seen a ghost. Her face instantly when pale, her eyes settling on my mother.

"Long time, no see, Glyn." Raven said, giving a kind wave. Her eyes spoke of worry, her lip frowning.

"Never call me that. Ozpin, get away from that woman this instant!" She said, taking out her whip. I leapt in front of her, grabbing the whip and my hands hardened with bone.

"Don't. Touch her." I said, my feral side screaming to protect my kin, my blood.

"Get off me, you mutt! That woman is a monster!" She said, shaking me off.

"Glyn, she is no such thing and you know that." Ozpin said, tapping his cane down gently.

"Yes she is!"

"I think she's calling me a monster for another reason." Raven sighed, sitting down in the leather chair. "Like how I stole you from her."

"Raven..."

I observed in absolute silent, backing away slightly. I watched as Glyn acted as if she was going to attack, her eyes locked with

"That is not true! What we did as students has nothing to do with this! You are a Grimm, a monster."

"You also know that's not true." She said weakly. Her gaze fell onto her old partner painfully, as if the sight of her caused her sorrow and regret. Glyn, however, looked as if she was in the presence of the devil himself.

"Don't tell me what I know! Ozpin, we need to call the police or something." She said, turning to my Father in a desperate twirl of the head.

"Glyn..." He said, attempting to comfort her. She slapped his hand away, leaving the room in a growl of anger. Ozpin sighed, swallowing and turning to Raven. Her face was burning with hatred and malice, but even I could see the pain behind her gaze. The was her knuckles turned white with her grip wasn't something you did when you were in danger, it was something you did when you were angry or betrayed.

"I suppose that does away with our chance to relive the 'good 'ol days', huh." He said. I knew nothing of what their relationship was. I knew nothing of the love either felt, and who felt what. Nevertheless, this was a needed event. I could feel it in my blood. Years of bad blood had led up to this.

"Do you want to go after her?" Raven asked, looking down. She placed her hand on the knee of her crossed leg, Ozpin turning to the door.

"...I do. I'm sorry, but discuss without me." He said, but my Mother did not respond. He took his cane and walked out the door, closing it behind him, leaving us alone. Only the clicking of the clockwork ceiling filled the void in the air. She swallowed, rubbing her face with her glove.

"Mirror." She asked, her voice faltering. I turned my head, placing my hands on my hips and looked down at her.

"Yes?" I asked gently, careful not to hurt her. She smiled weakly, but the pain of whatever just happened was too much for her. That much she couldn't write off.

"How were they, those ten years?" She said, as if to change the subject. I noticed the slight water in her eyes did not diminish. If anything, they were a mere drop away from becoming tears.

"...Lonely."

"Of course you would say that... My son would never complain about how he'd be nearly starving, or how he needed to learn to hunt, or even how he'd be hunted by Grimm for ten years. What bothered him the most? Loneliness. Like mother, like son, I suppose." She said, trailing off.

"How were they for you? What did you do?"

"Well, let's go back to that day where we were attacked. The Grimm that attacked us was a knight of the Alpha. I, at the time, had just joined Blackwood. They ranked me extremely highly due to my contact with Hunterkind. Because of that, I was a high value target to attack. Unfortunately, by doing so, they started a civil war. That's where I was for ten years, and why you have had a period of extended peace. I wanted to visit you, but I assumed you were dead. With all the Graynest that had overrun our territory, I thought you would have been murdered. Yet, you weren't. You lived, and survived. I'm very proud of you. I'm more sorry that I can ever explain about having to leave you."

"I forgive you." I said, causing her to smile. "So when are you returning?"

"Soon, I'm afraid. I must be back by the next full moon."

"That's only two weeks."

"I'm afraid so. I have to return and try to talk to that damn blinded Alpha. Even though the first civil war ended, another one may begin. Our treaty was more of a cease-fire, if anything."

"Is there any way you could stay?" I asked. She was silent for a moment, her hand touching the bone of her mask.

"You could always come with me. Join Blackwood, I mean."

"Mother..."

"Hear me out. You want answers. Ever since you were a newborn you had the largest curiosity. I could help you with that. You can change the Grimm from the inside, and keep Humanity safe without having to cause a war."

"But I have tasks to do! I need to find the exact functions of dust and aura-"

"All within our pack."

"I need to end the White Fang, and end the racism! I... I need... I need to stop the monopoly, and..."

"Mirror, you don't have to do everything. Just come with me, and I'll show you how to stop mixing work and play."

"I can't... not unless I can get it done in two weeks." I said.

She raised a brow, a smirk coming to her face.

...

I walked with speed, passing the lab, passing the mess hall, and going straight towards my dorm and tearing open the door. My roommates leaped in surprise.

"Mirror, what's wrong?" Lily asked fearfully.

"Gale, I need your permission."

"F-For what?"

"To become the team leader for the next seven days"

"W-What? Why?"

"We are ending this war, now."

...

I explained my situation, showing them Raven and attempted to find Yang. After having no success, I returned to the dorms to a laughing family.

"Mirror did _what?"_ Rae said, laughing.

"When he was a baby, he would ride the little baby Grimms that were too young to hurt him. He couldn't have been more than 3 years old." Raven said, a cute smile on her face. I felt my face grow hot.

"What are you people doing?! I asked you to learn about the situation!"

"We did, relax. We got it, your a Grimm."

"H-How can you act that nonchalant?" I muttered.

"Dude, its not that surprising. I mean, it obviously is a bit, but nothing we didn't already hypothesize."

"Seriously?" I asked. Lily blushed, turning away.

"We sort of made conspiracy theories about what you were and what was going on and bet on who'd win. I guess Gale and I owe Rae fifty bucks, since he was pretty damn close."

"Hell yeah, you do." Rae said with a stern nod.

"And, before you ask, I'll let you take the lead for a bit. You know the situation better than I do, but I'm still the leader in battles, you hear? And I become team leader again right after that full moon." Gale said with a smirk. I nod, a smile crossing my face.

"Of course."

"What's our plan?" Raven said. "I'll help you as much as I can, but I can't be seen. That would mean Blackwood would be interacting with Hunterkind, which does against our current treaty." She said. I nod, tapping my chin.

"Could you get us Grimm forces?"

"I know a Grimmaster or two who could help out." She said. I didn't bother asking what a 'Grimmaster' was. There was much terminology to learn from her.

"Then heres out plan of attack. We need to continue with the Velvet-Weiss plan I mentioned. Anyone know any more Faunus?"

"Blake from team RWBY is a faunus." Lily said.

"What? Really? How did you know?" I asked.

"All the girls take showers in the locker rooms. I'm more amazed that she kept the secret this long." She said with a smirk. I shrugged, grabbing the notepad from my bunk up top and writing it down.

"To review the plan, we are going to broadcast to all of Cardinal that Weiss and Velvet want peace. Weiss will speak for the SDC, and Velvet will speak for the White Fang. They'll broadcast terms for a cease-fire, and maybe even a treaty. How soon can we do this?"

"Since you mentioned it to me last week or whatever, I talked to Weiss and Velvet about it. I'd need to talk to Blake, but some girl on girl talk should be enough to convince her." Lily said. I nodded, remembering how I came clean on my plans after I discussed with Ozpin.

"How soon?"

"Honestly? Maybe as soon as in a day or so. I can do it right after this."

"Good, let's do that then. Assuming we can do that, and going with the best possible scenario that the White Fang does follow our terms, we can move to the next target."

"What are our terms?"

"That will be for the Schnee and Faunus to decide. Probably something like 'stop forcing us to work and treating us badly, and we'll all stop fighting. If we fight even slightly more after this, you can claim we are monsters.' This example is a little biased for the Faunus, but they can discuss it out and what not."

"Sounds good, what's next?" Gale asked from his bunk.

"Well, in a perfect world, we would at least steal a good chunk of the army from White Fang. From there, we need Ozpin to deploy his teams to guard the cargo against White Fang forces. That'll rot Torchwick's power as a leader, until he can't control them any more, and they will disband. It may not be something that occurs in two weeks, but once we get to the Ozpin step, we can consider the act completed."

"Next?"

"Ironwood. I'll need to contact him, and possibly visit Atlas. Is that Penny girl on campus?"

"She's staying with Ruby at this moment, after running away from Ironwood."

"Perfect. Do we know what made her run away?"

"Not really."

"But its not like abuse or anything?"

"I don't think so. Maybe."

"Then she may cooperate with us. I'll talk to her personally. Maybe she can act as an information broker for us. Depending on how willing she is, we may be able to use her as some sort of fake hostage."

"That doesn't sound good." Lily said, sticking out her tongue.

"We aren't going to be holding her against her will. If she doesn't want to, that that'll be it. We just need leverage over Ironwood. If she doesn't, we might need another stepping stone to him. Bribes, deals, whatever is needed." I said, causing Raven to nod in approval.

"And after that?" Rae asked from his bed.

"Well, I'll need to see how the agreement goes. Of all of this... less than adequate planning, this is the least stable. If I can convince the King, great. If not, I'll adjust the plan as needed with the time we have left. If _everything_ manages to work, and that would be a near miracle, then I will go with Raven to the Grimmlands. Sound good?"

"Sounds good." Gale said, giving me a thumbs up.

And that was how I started a war.


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm supposed to do_ what?_"

I sighed, looking at the girl in white. Her face was contorted in shock, a scar running down her snowflake blue eye. In any other situation, with any other personality, I would have found her incredibly attractive.

"Do you expect me to honestly make a treaty with those monsters? Ha! Who are you to ask anything! You're worse then they are, Grimm."

"Weiss Schnee, if you do not do this, all of Cardinal will fall within the month."

"W-What?" She said, taken aback slightly. I looked over at Blake, who nodded in approval.

"We have reason to believe that the Grimm with be attacking us, causing the Third Night. If such a thing happens, civilization will fall. This broadcast could decide the fate of Remnant. Are you willing to kill everyone because of your groundless hatred for the Faunus?"

"Groundless?!" She shouted. "Do you _know_ what they did to me?"

"No." I answered honestly. "But that is not of my concern. I am not trying to play judge, and decide who is the most right and the least evil. Do you think Blake is an animal? Velvet?"

"That's different."

"No, it isn't. Tell me, in front of them, that they are animals. I do not care what you define me as, but the Faunus are different. They are men, Hunters. Tell me that you do not care for Blake, and find her to be an animal."

"Mirror, or whatever you're name is-"

"Stop dodging the question." I said, looking into her eyes. A slight pink hue glowed in her cheeks, causing her to break eye contact. Her arms crossed, her lips forming a slight pout.

"Blake and Velvet aren't animals."

"Now widen the spectrum. Faunus aren't animals."

"But-"

"No one is trying to say what they have done is right, but we can't act like saints ourselves. Me, the Schnee family, Ozpin, Raven, they all have committed things that aren't in the right. Still, that doesn't mean they were done without reason. No human would do something they completely thought was wrong without one."

"…" Weiss rocked back and forth, staring at my feet.

"Say it."

Ruby smiled slightly, elbowing Yang.

"I ship them so much."

"Oh yeah."

"Shut up!" Weiss shouted, now fully red. "You know what? Fine. Faunus aren't… born evil."

"That's a good start. Remember, this treaty will tell everyone to stop. Okay?"

"…Okay."

"Velvet, Blake, are you up for this?" I asked, looking to them. Velvet nodded in silence, joined in equal volume by Blake.

"What are our terms."

"Well, for one, the Schnee family needs to stop the slave treatment of the Faunus." Blae said bitterly.

"They aren't slaves!" Weiss fought back. I held my hands up, informing them to quiet down.

"Let's word it as harsh treatment, in order to be unbiased. Weiss, do you think your father could loosen the treatment if you say so?"

"…Yes."

"Good. Weiss, what is your demand?" I said, taking a seat on her bunk. She hesitated, joining me. She sat in silence for a moment. It was understandable. This wasn't a matter for her about the Faunus doing something she didn't like. They had done something to her that I didn't know, and she hated them for that. It was no different than my unease with the Grimm. Still, she needed to learn to shed her biased frame of reference and look at the big picture.

"This is something only for the Schnee family, right? The cease fire happens anyways?"

"Yes."

"Then I want a formal apology from the Faunus of White Fang, and I want them to attend the funerals and graves of everyone who died by their wars."

"Blake, Velvet, do you feel that would be reasonable? That the White Fang could accept that?"

"It might be tough, but I think so. We should at least be able to get the apology."

"Then this matter should be settled. We will broadcast you three, saying that the harsh treatment will end within the week, as long as all White Fang members do not attack any cargo. This will be a moment of trust, and after that, we can move from there. Nobodies terms here today are that unreasonable. The only thing I might add is that the Schnee family visit the graves of anyone who died of being overworked. Weiss, can this be done?"

"They wouldn't like it, but my father wants this war to end as much as the next guy."

"Then its settled." I said, finishing my scribbles on my notepad. I tore the paper off and handled it to Ruby, smiling gently.

"Can you bring this to Ozpin for me?" I said, causing her to give an exaggerated salute.

"Aye, Cap'tn!" She said before running off. I smiled, turning to Weiss.

"Can I speak with you outside?"

"Eh?" She said, tilting her head up in surprise. Yang watched with a suppressed smirk, leaning back into her bed. "What about?"

"Just about tomorrow. Yang, could you discuss the same subject with Blake and Velvet? Feel free to tell them everything about our… situation."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"Everything? What are you two going on about?" Weiss asked. I walked out of the room without saying a word, with the intention of going to the roof.

"H-Hey! Where are you going!" Weiss shouted, following me out of the room. "Don't you know its rude to just leave!"

"Then follow me, and it won't be leaving." I said, giving her a soft smile. She glared at me, but immediately broke my gaze. In the wild, eye contact was used to establish dominance. I wonder if she saw me as superior. Why, I had no idea. She seemed to always claim and act like she was above everyone else, so there was no reason to. Unless, of course, that was just an act. I smiled at the thought.

"What were you talking about?"

"You're curious?" I said, slightly surprised.

"Of course I am!"

"That's more than most would be."

"Are you telling me or what?" She said, the two of us taking to the stairs.

"What do you think of the Grimm."

"They're monsters." She said instantly. I sighed, opening the door and looking to the dark sky. Holding the door open for her, she swallowed upon seeing the stars.

"What's your _real_ answer?"

"What do you mean?"

"I took you away from everyone, so you don't have to put on an act."

"A-An act? I'm doing no such thing!"

"You're lying."

"What? How do you know!" She shouted. I smiled weakly, leaning against the concrete barrier. My head tilted up towards the stars, glancing at constellations of the Dead World and New.

"There was a study of the mind, once. Its called Psychology. There's a certain field within it that I would find interesting during my years alone. In there, it notes how people commonly act a certain way when they lie. Even the best liars still do these basic, subtle things. Things like looking left when they are making up things, but look right when they are recalling real memories. The touch their chin or neck when they are feeling cornered from their lies, or if they feel they need to put on an act." I said, glancing at the hand on the nape of her neck. She gave a 'hmpf!' and drew her hand away.

"What are your opinions toward the Grimm." I said, not as a question. She looked down, sitting on the ledge with me.

"I don't know."

"You can tell me."

"…" She looked down in silence, as if she was embarrassed. Still, I detected no pink in her cheeks, and her eyes seemed to be staring off into space. The mask had come off.

"What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Those ten years? Were they lonely?" She asked. I smiled, leaning back.

"Of course."

"I see…" She said, swallowing. "Can I ask you a weird question? You don't have to answer if you think its dumb."

"Curiosity is nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Well, do you think you can be alone, even if people are around you? Like, oh, I don't know."

"Yes."

Her face shot up in surprise, her eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"I think they can. Hell, I think that's when you are the loneliest. When I was out there, I longed for something, but I didn't know what. I thought it was the company of people, the embrace of my mother, and the smile of my brother. I hated the Grimm for taking those things away. But now, here at Beacon, I don't know what that hole is. Its not knowledge, its not people, and its not war." I said, causing her to nod. I leaned back against the wall, sighing.

_Mirror, Mirror, against the wall. Who is the loneliest of them all?_

"…Exactly." She said, biting her lip. "What do I think about the Grimm? I didn't really give it much thought. They were just animals, not bad or good really. A force to be reckoned with, shrouded in mystery, but that was it. But there's that one piece that doesn't fit that puzzle, that won't let me write them off that easily."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. As dumb as it is to say, you didn't make sense to me. You seemed… I don't know. Maybe it was how lonely you seemed, but I understood you, even though I didn't know you that well. More than my own team mates, maybe. You seemed more human than most humans did." She said, looking to the sky. "I don't know, that probably sound dumb and creepy, right?" She said, adding a fake giggle.

"No, I don't think so." I said, looking down at her. She looked away again, playing with the sleeve of her dress.

"So, we're starting tomorrow? Do you really think we can do this?" She asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. We're just students, and I don't know if we can really spark a cultural revolution. I'm putting you three in danger, and I'll be honest that I don't know if its worth it." I said. She leaned her head against me, sending a spark of energy up my spine. I don't know why she did it or what she caused, but I felt my face growing hot.

"I think we can do it. After all, you _are_ talking to Weiss Schnee."

"Aww."

The sound came from no distinguishable location, but it came. Weiss shot up, shooting her head around in shock and blush.

"W-W-Who's there?"

"…"

"Mirror, is this a joke?!"

"No, I don't know who that was." I answered with honesty.

"I swear, I'll have your head on a pike if you don't show yourself!" She shouted. A small tuff of blackish red hair rose from behind the cooling fan, childish grey eyes meeting ours.

"Hey… guys." She said, shamefully rising from the fan. "Howzitgoin'? Lovely weather, am I right?" She said, giving a gun-ho pump of the fist. Her attempts to be nonchalant were failing horribly. Yang rose from behind the fan to, giving us a thumbs up.

"We didn't even have to do anything! They made the ship canon themselves!"

"S-Shut up! I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, young love. I remember such a thing." Ruby said, placing her hand on her chin as if thinking back to her past.

"Y-Young love? You're younger than we are!" Weiss shouted.

"I'll have you know she's single, Mirror. She went to the dance alone." Yang said, giving a wink.

"I did that purposefully! I needed to keep the dance in order!"

"But Yang, what about Neptune?"

"Mirror is way better match, 'dontcha think?"

I realized my face was as red as Weiss'.

"Alright, Alright, that enough. Let's head to bed." I said, opening the door for everyone. Ruby snickered as she exited, Yang giving me another wink.

"Good going, little bro. You almost got 'er." She said. I flinched, Weiss walking past me.

Little… bro?

She thought of me as Kin?

…

I laid back in my top bunk, staring at the ceiling. Mother was sleeping outside, for whatever reason. The dim lights glowed with its warmth, giving my team just enough light to pull the all-nighter they needed, to finish their homework they forgot.

"Mirror?" Lily asked from below me.

"Yeah?"

"Who was the leader of the 96 DR revolution?"

"Aaron Titanus, but don't get that confused with Decim Fani, the other guy that they'll put on the test. He just rallied the troops."

"Thanks." She said, going back to her homework. Rae cleared his throat, a slight smirk on his face.

"So I was ran into Ruby after my daily midnight walk in the halls."

He did those. I don't get why.

"Is that so?" I said, flipping the pages of my textbook. I wasn't behind on any assignments, just feeding my childish curiosity. He remained silent for the next few seconds, probably flashing a look to the remaining members of my team.

"I hear a little somethin' somethin' about you and Weiss."

"Is that so?" I repeated, ignoring his teasing.

"Ooh, what happened?" Lily snickered from below.

"Just that they were caught on the roof together."

"I was briefing her on the interview in two days."

"Is. That. So?" Gale said, mocking my typical tone. His head rocked with each word, a snicker growing on his face as he closed his textbook.

"Yes."

"So you claim nothing is going on?"

"No comment." I said. Lily exploded beneath me, giving a squeal of joy.

"Our little robot is growing_ feelings!_"

"I informed you not to call me that, especially considering we actually know a robot."

Or they did. I had still yet to meet Penny.

"I'm proud of you, Mirror-bot."

"Goodnight." I said, slamming my textbook closed and throwing covers over myself. The snickered, but my long day had taken a lot out of me. Sleep nearly instantly swallowed me whole, and I slipped away.


	9. Chapter 9

I crawled out of bed, changing and heading outside. Calmly, I sit down upon the concrete of the fountain, my new book in hand. This new one was about ecology, and the study of ecosystems.

Visions of alien worlds and ecosystems danced around in my head as I read about how the smallest bugs, and how the impacted the ecosystem more than even the largest predators. The fountain splashed with a calming effect behind me, the sun warming the morning chill to the perfect temperature. What seemed like hours passed by in seconds, birds chirping and bringing me back to my days in the Forest.

So different, was like in Beacon. It was a word that silenced the predatory side of the mind, bringing out the softer form. In the wilderness, things grew hard in order to survive. Emotions killed, but here, they tortured. Having emotion was the norm, despite what that meant for the psyche.

So different, was this world. So different, was life. Sometimes, the scale of it all would make me feel ill. This was one of the moments, where the sheer size of the world dwarfed me. I was a mere human in a flood of people, in a flood of cities, in a flood of nations. These nations were indescribably small to the world it lived on, which was indescribably small to the sun it orbited, which was just one of millions and billions of stars. My cabin that I lived on, the only world I knew, was so small it was laughable.

When I got like this, there was only one way to return.

I thought about how small atoms were, and how small molecules were. If the universe held billions of stars, I held quadrillions of atoms. I was my own universe, filled with my own life. Thousands of unthinkably small cells linked together, forming the shuttle known as 'Mirror Black'. I was a giant to those cells, a creature of unimaginable size.

…but what if our universe was just another of those cells? A piece of an even larger titan? What if that titan lived in an even larger universe? What if that universe of titans was just another cell?

"Mirror?"

A voice tore me away from my philosophical stupor. There in front of me stood Weiss, her winter white hair placed in a sideward pony tail.

"…Yes, Weiss?"

"What are you doing? I went out to get breakfast, and I saw you here. Its lunch time, and yet here you are still."

"Just… thinking." I said, struggling slightly. When I returned to my feral-esc mind, language melted away. It was hard to adapt back. She smiled, nevertheless.

"You're an idiot, aren't you?"

"So says the few." I said, rising and closing the book I had been reading.

"Have you even eaten today?" She asked. I shrugged, placing my book away on my belt. I still had the feral mindset of 'don't eat until you're hungry.' Weiss smiled with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms. "My team is headed downtown to get lunch. Do you want to come, I guess?"

"Would they welcome me?"

"With teases and smirks, probably."

"Sounds lovely." I said with a smile. "Lead the way."

Weiss nodded, walking forward. I stood a few paces behind her, in an attempt to let her feel more dominant. I don't know why I humored her so, but the subconscious of my mind did so. I usually trusted my subconscious, or my gut, as it wasn't usually wrong. If I felt I had forgotten something, I usually had.

"So, have you chatted with Ozpin yet?"

"No, but I did see Ruby this morning. She said that we were green lit, so we're good to go."

"What's up with you and Ozpin, anyways? You guys seem to chat a lot."

"He _is_ my father."

"…what?" Weiss said, looking back in shock. "You're father is Ozpin?"

"Yeah."

"That would mean… you said that Raven girl was your mother right?"

"Yes."

"So they…?" She asked, blushing all of the sudden.

"Yes."

"W-Well, I didn't know Ozpin liked those… type of women."

"What kind are you referring to?"

"The… Grimm kind." She said, looking away. I smiled at her bashful behavior, looking around at the various trees and fauna, reaching down and picking small stem of hydrangeas from the ground. They were white, indicating a low PH level in the ground. Weiss looked at the flowers in shock, flashing her gaze between my own and back.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Picking flowers, here." I said, handing her the stem. She seemed flustered, shaking her hands and backing away bashfully.

..oh, right. Giving flowers was a romantic gesture in Hunter culture.

My face is hot now…

"I didn't mean it like that, I was just checking the PH of the soil." I said.

"The what?" She said, taking the stem hesitantly. I grabbed another stem, taking a slight sniff.

"The acidity of the soil. If the soil is not acidic or basic, these flowers will be white like they are now. Most fauna grows at this level, so I deem it a safe level. Still, when the PH rises, these flowers turn a beautiful blue." I said, thinking of an object to compare them to. "Sort of like the color of your eyes." I said, carefully scanning them.

"My… eyes?" She said, looking away.

"Yeah."

My heart is beating quickly… why? Am I sensing a threat from her? I feel no such feeling in my gut. If anything, it's the opposite.

"Mirror?"

"What is it?" I asked, turning my head toward her. She bit her lip, as if debating whether or not to ask.

"Do you want to do get lunch alone? Like, not with the team?"

"Will they not want me? Should I head back?" I asked. Her eyebrows rose, her hands shaking to communicate I got the wrong idea.

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I meant… just the two of us, getting lunch. I know this great café that you'd like."

"How do you know I like coffee?"

"You're Ozpin's son, apparently. The only other way it could be more obvious was if you were Oobleck's son."

"Well, sure. I'd like that."

…Like that. I'd… like that? Why would I like that? For the coffee? Why would my gut like that? What message was it trying to convey? Regardless of my ramblings, we walked away from the small patch of grass and down the street, entering the café. The subtle scent of coffee drifted to us as we ordered our coffee. Weiss put little cream in it, however put a fair amount of sugar in it.

"So you're a sweet girl, eh?" I asked, pouring in my cream.

"A-A what?"

"Sweets girl." I said, realizing my slipping of words.

"Oh, I suppose." She said with a smile. We took our seats near the window, watching the streets of Beacon as pedestrians continued to walk each and every way.

"Lovely weather outside, isn't it?"

"It is." She said, somewhat awkwardly. I noticed her thumbs twirling around as she held the coffee cup, as if she was nervous.

"Aren't the clouds pretty?" She said suddenly, turning to the glass. "That one sort of looks like a dove." She said, pointing to a group of cotton. I noticed it did take the shape of a cute bird, its wings stretched out mid flight.

"That one over there looks like a bunny." I said, leaning in and pointing to a cloud.

"Aww, it does!" She said, almost taking a childish fascination in the small poof. "Ooh, Ooh! That one looks like an old man!" She said, pointing to another cloud.

"I don't see it."

"Oh, come on! See, right there! That's his beard, and those are his glasses!"

"That isn't an old man." I said sternly. She recoiled, her lip making an upside down 'v' shape.

"Oh yeah? And you called that a bunny? Its just a fluff of snow with two bumps!"

"You're one to talk, seeing that you thought _that_ was a dove." I said, teasing her. She have a slight growl of anger, clenching her eyes shut. Not being able to hold it in any longer, I let out a loud laugh. Her eyes shot open that instant, the dread of realizing how much my teasing had gotten to her. A smile snuck across her face, her cheeks fully red.

"You got me." She said, taking a sip of coffee to hide her embarrassment.

"I bet I can do one better."

"Oh, really?"

"C'mon." I said, walking getting up. Weiss joined me with a furrowed brow, following me until I stopped in front of the piano.

"Do you play?" She asked.

"Define playing." I said, taking a seat. She nodded, joining me on the seat.

I rest my stiff fingers on the keys, feeling the experiences of my old hobby. They were sore from the years long since past, but earned to play aria. My index finger gently touches a key, causing the piano to hum with its tune. I gently tap a series of key with one hand, running my second up to feel the key. Its not enough to press them down, but enough for my finger's to regain the old nostalgia of tapping.

"I think you know what it means to play a piano." She explained, looking at the keys. I nodded.

My fingers begin to set down slowly, gently pressing various keys. Various soft notes float out of the piano's gentle wooden frame, painting the air with beautiful sound. My individual notes each had an identity in the slow and gentle pacing, yet formed together in an exotic melody. I begin to increase in pace, tapping the keys again and again as the piano begins to sing, its wooden body vibrating the air in beautiful ways. The song sings about its gentle beginning, my hands dancers leaping from key to key.

My fingers dance around the white, telling stories of a bitter yet sweet tale, only defined by the fading sounds of the instrument. I feel her eyes rest on mine, partially in amazement, and partially in curiosity.

As I reached the climax of the gentle song, I sped up. The harmony melded with the melody, just as the main angelic sound looped. It played its high songs as my left hand drifted downwards, singing of the descent into the dark. The hymn hummed as it shined in its beauty, my fingers drifting across the bleached monoliths.

With soft yet focused eyes, I reached around Weiss and played the lowest notes. She reacted with a blush, but I continued to play The clash of the high and the shadows caused her lock her gaze with mine, the soft ocean blue of her eyes glowed, its emotion melding with the song.

I gently pull away my left arm, pressing but a single key.

The complex melody stopped so suddenly, emphasizing the single, lonesome note.

It hummed alone.

The silence echoed, causing an ache to hear more.

I softly pressed the final key, its hum satisfying the hunger more than another song could ever do.

The key's note faded away, but Weiss' mood didn't shift. Her voice came out low and mellow, as if the experience had been too much for her.

"What was that called?"

"I never gave it a title."

She nods, taking it in.

"And here I thought you didn't play, being a monster." She noted. I smiled.

"Playing is relative."

"What do you mean?"

I gently open the song book, placing my finger on the characters of notes and melodies.

"I never learned to read sheet music, or really how to play piano. All my songs are just muscle memory, faceless and nameless."

"What do you mean, you never learned?"

"I just never got around to it. Raven owned a piano, but none of the books of hers where about music. I only know what I made, marked by only muscle memory.."

"That's impressive. Don't you want to write it down though? I know how to write down music."

I sighed, my face slightly red.

"No."

Her face was solemn, as if the wonder of 'why' pained her physically.

"I'm not someone who can play, only pretend. My songs are just a combination of keys, and nothing more."

"But don't you _want_ to preserve it? To leave something?"

I take one hand, playing the air much like I did the piano. I nearly hear the music in my head, but silence plagued the air.

"No. When I'm gone, they will just fade away."

"Why?"

I shrugged. Being with her, I found myself surprisingly empty-minded, in a good way. She cleansed me from my endless curiosity, which never was filled. I didn't feel the need to preserve anything, and I never had. Those songs, they were just keys on a piano.

"Because..." I said, not knowing how to say the words myself. "I don't want to be a hero."

"What?" She asked, her eyes growing with concern. I sighed, biting my lip slightly. Thinking of words was hard, especially when describing things which never were meant to be put into words.

"Be it purposeful or not, I was bred to be an intellectual. My obsession of knowledge was seeded in me very early on in my life, and that's all there ever was. Soon, I grew feral, and that's all I was. Either feral or intellect. A finger of the madness of the wilderness, or the paintbrush of the greatness of human thought and endeavors. I... I never was me. There is no me. This song, these scientific documents published under my name, they are nothing more than a flow of knowledge. I am only a tool for the greater purpose. So, this song will die in spite. It isn't me, and never will be. Nothing will."

She sighed, leaning her head against mine.

"You're weird, you know?"

"Yeah." I said simply.

"Weird is good, though." I heard her say, feeling her head rise. "Everyone at this school seems to be so… light hearted and overly giddy. You always seem to know what you're doing, though."

"I suppose."

"I envy your ability to boss Ozpin around." She said, sighing.

"You'd like to boss around your superiors? Like, you father?"

"I liked that song of yours." She said, dodging the question.

"Here, let me teach you."

"But-"

"Take it as a gift of peace from the monsters to you." I said, speaking on behalf of the Faunus and the Grimm.

Weiss smiled, a slight blush of embarrassment rising to her cheeks. Despite the authenticity of the smile, her lips curved ever so slightly downwards.

"Place your hands here."

I moved behind her, taking her hands into mine and gently placing them on the piano. I positioned her soft fingers onto each key, tapping them. My motion transferred through, causing her to play. It was the main part of the song.

"When I play this tune…"

I played a low harmony, my hands around her.

"You play exactly what I told you, okay?"

Her nod told me she was ready, and I gently began to play. With one hand playing the angelic high notes, and the left playing the lower dark notes, the signal tune flashed. As the two harmonies clashed, she began to play.

I gently stopped with one hand and moved her index finger one key over, correcting her. Taking my hands away from her, I began to play on my side.

Our two songs melded together, but still had identity. Her song was separate and clear from mine, but still worked with it.

I ran my hands along the keys, Weiss doing the same. Her hair covered her face, but I could tell that bitter smile had been replaced.

I placed my hand on hers again, placing it where my hand was. Spreading her fingers and tapping each slowly, she learned how to play the chorus. Her blue eyes met mine with the largest and most real smile I had ever seen.

"You did it."

"I_ am_ Weiss Schnee."

I felt her smile infect me, causing my the corners of my lips to rise up.

"Yeah, you did." The words come out of my mouth softly, causing her gaze to dull. Her face observed mine with a familiar emotion. We returned to our table and paid the bill, leaving the café with a satisfied smile. She turned to me, giving a slight bend of the knees, almost in excitement.

"I really should head out to meet up with my team, but we should do this again."

"Y-Yeah." I said, waving as she walked off.

My blood…was boiling

And I wasn't in danger


	10. Chapter 10

"What do you mean, the broadcast is delayed?!" I shouted, settling my eyes on Ozpin. The man sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"I wasn't able to secure the rights to the broadcast yesterday, but I have it now. We'll go live tomorrow." He said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"We advertised it would be today!"

"I know that, Mirror, but what can we do? We paid for the time tomorrow and there is nothing that can be done. We just have to wait it out."

"We'll lose thousands of viewers."

"I'll buy some more advertising, but yes, we lost a lot of viewers."

"...Shit." I said, slamming my fist into his desk.

"Just try to relax. If this pans out well, we don't need the whole country watching. Only enough to spread the word around and create a snowball effect is required, and we have that. We're doing what we can here, so please try to understand."

"I know." I said, sighing. "Thank you for all your work, really, but still..."

"Just take this as a day off. You've been working hard these past few days, be them in the lab or working on this broadcast."

"A day off?"

"Yes."

"What would I do?"

"I don't know, I don't get days off. I'm a headmaster."

"...Do you have any ideas?" I asked, frowning.

"Try to hang out with the students, I would assume. Then again, I was never an A+ student when it came to social situations."

"Like Father, Like son." I said, groaning as I rose. "How's Raven?"

"Eh?" He said, almost surprised.

"How's my Mother? I haven't seen her around lately. You haven't hurt her or anything, right?"

"No..." He said, taking an odd sip of his coffee. "In fact, we are going out to dinner tonight to catch up and relive old times."

"Is that so?" I said simply.

"Indeed." He said, breaking eye contact.

"Enjoy your date then." I said, turning to leave.

"Mirror, I find this highly inappropriate." He said as I left.

...what now?

"Mirror?" Asked a feminine voice. Turning, I noticed Lily jogging over to me.

"Hey, Lily." I said, raising a hand.

"Whatcha up to?" She said, adjusting the goggles on her head.

"Heading to the lab, I guess."

"Oh, come on. You know what they say about work and play, right?"

"All work and no play keeps the doctor away?"

"Yea-I mean no! Where did you get that from!"

"Ozpin." I said, causing her to roll her eyes. Clearing my throat, I straightened stiffly. "Don't you just hang around in the forge all day anyways? Who are you to judge?"

"That's different! It's actually _fun."_

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah!"

"I bet you couldn't live without that forge."

"You wanna bet?"

"You know what? I do." I said, sticking out my hand. She eyeballed my hand, giving a smirk.

"I can just hang out with Gale all day. You sure?" She said, flashing me with an evil gaze.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Actually, let's make this interesting. You have to spend all day away from the lab, _buuuuuut, _We each have to hang out with someone of the opposite gender."

"Isn't that making this biased? You already have someone to hang out with." I said, giving her a furrowed brow of slight annoyance. She smiled, leaning in.

"I thought you enjoyed a challenge. Maybe I was wrong." She said in a low voice. I frowned, turning my gaze to meet hers.

"Fine, you're on." I said, grabbing her hand and giving a firm shake. She smiled, pridefully placing a hand on her hip. "Loser has to clean the winner's weapon for a month!"

"Really?" I sighed.

"This'll be entertaining." She said, walking past me and thrusting a hand in the air. I sighed, walking around the hall and out to the courtyard, looking at the fountain. I would just need to stay out till midnight, right? It's 6 in the afternoon now, so it shouldn't be too bad. Who to hang out with though... Raven would be the cheap way, but she's out with Ozpin anyways. Yang? No, I still feel like she'd torture me for information if I let m guard down, despite calling me 'little bro.' Penny? That could be an option... I do need to inspect her hardware. Eh, Lily would probably classify that as cheating. Who else do I know? Velvet, but I doubt she'd be willing. Blake or Ruby were training today, so that would be a no go. Even Glyndia was currently doing paperwork for the broadcast.

There was Weiss.

My heart rate instantly increase, adrenaline flooding my system. My vision sharpened and my bones hissed as if ready for war.

"Hey, Mirror."

"Gah!" I gave a little shout of surprise, turning around to see non other than Weiss herself. She giggled at my reaction, her hand covering her face.

"Did I catch you off guard?"

"Yeah." I said, straightening. I cleared my throat, avoiding her gaze.

"So what are you doing right now? Headed to the lab, I presume?"

"Actually, I have a day off. As you might have heard, the broadcast has been delayed."

"Yeah, I heard. Ozpin sent me a letter. A letter! Who sends those anymore?"

I thought about my letters do my lab partners, and how we would send reports to each other.

"Yeah..."

"So you're free, then?"

"It appears so. Actually, I have this... bet thing. Could you help me out?"

"Bet thing?"

"Yeah. I made a bet with Lily. She has to stay out of the forge all day, but I have to stay out of the lab. The only catch is we have to hang out with someone of the opposite gender."

"Really?" She said, her eyebrows raised. "What happens to the loser?"

"Loser has to clean the winner's weapon for a month."

"Owch." She said, closing one eye in sympathy.

"So could you help me? We'd just have to hang out until the end of the day."

"Hm? Oh.. uh.. sure." She said, her voice fluttering a bit. "Where should we go?"

"I hear an arcade just opened downtown. I hear you're pretty competitive." I said, Weiss giving a sharp nod.

"Let's go."

...

By the time I said that, we had entered downtown and the arcade was in sight. Its neon sign glowed with the cartoonish letters forming the word 'JoJo's play house.' It was one of the most childish things I've seen, but they had a nice collection. They had everything from 8-bit classics to the more recent horror titles.

"What should we do first?"

"Let's start of with… some air hockey."

"Air hockey?"

"Why not? It'll get us in the competitive mood, so there'll be no excuses."

She eyeballed me.

"Unless you're scared."

"I-I am not!"

"Then let's go!"

She prances over to the air hockey machine, boldly taking the puck and the handle after inserting a small coin into the glowing machine. With the lights off in the room, the 'field' goes and hums as mana morphed air currents just enough to reduce friction.

"'O-'O. First to 3."

"I'm be team awesome."

She winked.

"Oh yeah? I'll be team winner."

"That'll be ironic when you lose."

"You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" I said, leaning in and placing my weight on the puck.

Weiss hit the serve, the puck floating to the right side and bouncing back. She hit it hard enough, hitting my hand and causing me to recoil in pain. It bounced off my hand, going straight in.

"Ow, that's cheap!" I said, shaking my hand.

"So?" She said with a playful smirk.

"Play fair!"

"Anyways, Team awesome, one, Team 'winner' _zero!" _She cheered, punching the air and closing her eyes in satisfaction.

"That was cheap."

"And? Do you have something against playing dirty?"

I sigh. I was known for not playing nice, so I guess I can't complain.

"Then, from here on out, there will be only one rule."

"Oh?"

"If the other catches you, you can't do that anymore."

"Deal."

I served, but she placed her arm down to block the goal, knocking the puck away.

"Calling you out, touching the puck."

"Ow~ So not worth it."

I hit the puck back. She moves to intercept, hitting the small puck and bouncing it off the wall. My board hits beneath the puck, perfectly launching it into the air. While its airborne, I hit it again, sending it straight for her.

"Bwah!"

She yelps in surprise, attempting to hit it out of the air. Instead, it lands perfectly in the goal with a 'pling!'

"One, One."

"Grr~" She growls, taking the puck and slamming into the table. With a angry bash, the puck is sent in my direction. My senses are quicker, and I hit the puck back, sending it to bounce off each of the walls. "Calling you out, airborne puck."

I hear her laugh as she places her board down, stopping the puck.

"Calling you out! Stopping the puck."

She smirked, looking back at me.

"Damnit."

After making eye contact, we both laugh. Taking the chance, I struck the puck into her goal. She showed surprise on her face as the machine gave the 'pling!' of victory.

"What was that?"

I smirked, chuckling slightly.

"What?" I said, holding my hands up and raising my eyebrows.

"Hmpf! Calling you out! Taking advantage of me laughing."

"I don't think that's against any rules."

"The rules were that we stop what we call out, if we notice the enemy doing it."

"Hmm..." I said, thinking of what to do. Before that, however, she served the puck with blinding speeds. I hit it back, causing her to volley it off the side. Before I could move to intercept, she yelled out. "Calling you out, hitting the puck!"

"Eh?" I said in shock.

"You can't hit the puck!" She said with an evil giggle, the puck slamming into my goal.

"No fair!"

"You said the rule was just calling the person out on something they were doing. Does that not fall under the list?"

I glared at her.

"Team winner is the loser!" She said, giving a slight fist pump.

I said, crossing my arms with a smirk.

"Fine! Let's do… that one!"

She points to a large machine, labeled 'Time fighters!'. I knew the game by heart. We walked up to it, each rolling in a coin and taking the toy gun from his holster. From here, you would aim at the enemies on the team and fire at them. To reload, shoot off screen. To hide behind cover, you take your foot off the pedal.

_Begin?_

_Y/N_

She shot the 'Y', starting the game. It was hilarious how she held the pistol. Her grip was uneven and unbalanced, and would cause her to likely miss targets above her point of view. I, on the other hand, was unaccustomed to pistols, having played the game before.

The cinematic played as a low-res player leapt from an exploding building, hiding behind cover. Enemies, stereotypical terrorists, leapt from the building. It was cliche, but well designed.

I took a deep breath, steadying my aim.

Weiss began to fire, hitting the two men directly in front of us. I gently adjusted in my hands, watching her miss several times aiming for the next men. With a laugh as she struggled to reload, I picked off each man with ease.

Technically, you could shoot the same man multiple times for more points, but I was cleaner. A headshot each, then reload.

The intense battle music played as the first boss appeared, his truck knocked over the fence and a villain with a gun for a hand rose.

"Kakakakaka!"

He laughed, firing his gun towards us. I safely hid away under cover while Weiss' screen flashed red, taking away one of her lives.

"No!"

She whined, ducking.

With a laugh, I took off the surrounding goons with a single bullet each.

"Kyaaaa~!"

She yelled cutely, unloading her clip into the villain. He shot again, hitting her and taking away a life.

Only one left for her.

Time for the hyper round.

I had a fast trigger finger.

I aimed at the villain and pulled the trigger 8 times, all within the course of two seconds. I tilted the gun, shot again, and aimed it again.

_S-S-S-STUN!_

He froze in place, Weiss taking advantage of this chance. Her cute battle-cry echoes as the gun shook with the intensity of her trigger-pulls, the man twitching each shot.

_C-C-COMBO! AWARD: SHOTGUN~_

Crap! She would win if she had a shot gun.

I threw my grenades by pressing the button on the game, firing the pistol as fast as possible.

_M-M-MULTIKILL!_

My points grew at an exponential rate from my inhuman firing, but it wasn't enough. Weiss' shotgun shells bore into the man, draining him of his final bit of life.

_Game over!_

_Winner, Player 2!_

"Yay!"

She cheered, nearly dropping the gun.

"Take that!"

"Alright, you got me!"

I hold up my hands in defeat. Her eyes instinctively move to the next game, a booth titled 'Bloody Sunday.' Her eyes slide back to me, bearing the look of a child in a candy store.

"Let's go."

"B-But!"

I scream when I get scared!

She tugged me into the dark both, pressing against me as we fit into the small booth. My face undoubtedly turned red, but it was too dark to see if she felt the same way. Weiss' hand moved to her coin purse, taking out a coin and rolling it in, pressing the start button.

Instantly, a scream erupts and I follow.

"Gyaa!"

I let out a scream of shock as some creepy mask popped up. I know instantly it's a jump scare, but that didn't help. Weiss yelped too, but hers was more of amusement. It quickly devolved into pure laughter as she placed her head against my shoulder, holding her chest.

"We haven't even started it, and we're already screaming!"

I sigh, taking the lever into my hand.

"I'll control the camera, you control the movement."

She nods, her face attempting to become more serious. Its easy to tell how much she failed at this, however.

Originally meant to be one-player, Bloody Sunday was a dark, low-res game where the player walked through a park at night. A faceless man in a suit would chase the player around as they tried to collect 8 pumpkins.

"I don't like this!"

I say, rocking back and forth in the booth.

"Oh, hush. We've barely started."

She moved us, pointing to the building.

"Go there."

"Oh, no way."

"Come on! Don't be such a scared-y cat!"

"Why would we go in the bathroom! If he's in there, we won't be able to escape!"

"Exactly!"

She forced us into the bathroom, despite my failing of the camera. The cold, white tile of the building surrounded our character as he slowly inched further into the deep.

"There! The pumpkin!"

I see it.

Its so beautiful. All nice and orange.

Despite the creepy face carved into it, its calming. We carefully walk up to it and obtain it.

_1/8 pumpkins_

We stare at the wall, silent.

"Leo, you have to turn around."

I realize that I'm frozen in fear.

"No way in hell."

She's smiling, looking at me.

"I believe in you!"

Pinching my eye closed, I slowly turn around.

The jump scare sound rang as the suited man leapt from the hall.

"AAAH!"

I scream, Weiss joining me.

Yet again, her yelp of surprise melts away into a cheerful giggle, her hand slapping my shoulder in joy.

"That is _not _okay!"

I say, covering my eyes with my hands. She jumps next to me, grabbing the controls.

"Mirror, we aren't dead yet!"

"What? Seriously?"

"I guess Fugly there left us alive."

Groaning, I grabbed the camera joystick, walking out of the bathroom, back out into the dark forest of the void. The tree's branches reached out for us like wooden claws, caressing our player with their vile fingers.

Red veins grew at the edges of our screen, signifying our low health.

"Pumpkin!"

She shouted, pointing on the screen to a orange object.

BDOOM~

A loud sound effect sounds.

"He's behind us! Grab the pumpkin and go!"

"Gyaaah!"

I yelp and close one eye, careful to only look at the pumpkin as Weiss forced the player to sprint forward, grabbing the pumpkin.

_2/8 pumpkins_

"Keep running!"

We ran into a house, just as the battle music ended.

"Another pumpkin!"

On a lucky break, we found another orange plant resting on the bed. With no hesitation, we ran out of the house and into the backyard.

"Go that way."

She says, pointing right. I adjust my camera, causing the character to move in that direction. Soon enough, we met a fence.

"A fence?"

"Follow it." Weiss said, leaning it with a focused look. With a sigh and a high heartbeat, I adjusted the camera and we began following the fence. The fog was thick, black, and heavy, blocking all view beyond an arm's distance away.

"Weiss…."

"Keep going!"

The fog grew thicker, almost dangerously so. Our flashlight's light seemed to have less and less even, until there was nothing but black.

"Weiss!"

"Okay… maybe you're right. Let's head back."

I turn the handle around, but to no effect.

"Did we turn around?"

"I don't know, I can't tell."

"Damn!"

I curse, and we move into the fog.

BDOOM~

The monster pops up, his tentacles wrapping around the screen.

"AH!"

I yelp again, the screen now only displaying the message.

_Game over, 3/8_

"Gah! We died!"

She smiled, looking me in the eyes.

"That was fun."

"Fun is a strong word."

Her subtle gaze in the dark seemed to want something, but I had had enough of that game. I opened the curtain and we moved on, playing and exploring the arcade. We played 'Human Combat', A two-player fighting game. Weiss would always stick out her tongue when she was focusing, in the cutest way possible. She's also the biggest sore loser, throwing adorable childish tantrums when she loses, in an attempt to earn a rematch. The two of us moved on from the video games to the physical ones, such as the classic macho-man hammer slam. The goal of the game was to hit the large button with a gigantic hammer as hard as possible. It would register your strength by launching a little weight up. If you were strong enough, could ring the bell. The goal was for 'men' to impress their dates and win a stuffed bear for them.

Carefully, I aimed and lifted the hammer, slamming it down with every ounce of force I had.

Being the spineless kid I am, could barely make it up half way.

I sighed in embarrassment, feeling the blush infect my cheeks.

"Give me a try."

Weiss, on the other hand, managed to ring the bell.

The man gave me a humorous smirk as he handed me bear, knowing that I was the lesser. Weiss glowed, her eyes setting on me after her victory. She was without a doubt proud of her display of strength.

We played bumper cars outside, laughing as our cars rammed into each other and sent us flying.

We even played mini-golf, and messed around with how poorly we could do. Later, we would practice trick shots. Time flew by faster than I could keep track of, night swallowing the sun and glowing with the light of the stars. Weiss and I left the arcade, settling in a field to watch the stars. With a sigh, I leaned back into the soft grass, placing my head on my forearms. Weiss joined me, crossing her legs as she laid by my side.

"This has been a fun day." She said happily.

"I still crushed you in mini golf."

"I won the trick shots competition, and that's all that matters." She said triumphantly. Her snow blue gaze rose to the stars, wandering around each of the points of light. "Its so…"

"Large. Perfect. Beautiful."

Weiss' head slowly rocked back and forth on its hinge, confirming my thoughts.

"Do you know any constellations?"

"Well, let me see your hand. Go like this."

I held up my hand, stretching all my fingers open as if for a high five. She did the same, allowing me to press my hand against hers. Luckily, they were nearly exactly the same size, so no extra calculations or such would be needed.

"Now clench your hand into a fist."

She did as I commanded, my hands gently grabbed around them.

"Hold it out in front of you, and aim for that tree over there. Try to place the low branch on one of your knuckles. Obviously, only in your line of sight."

Her arm tilted as she closed one eye, setting her sights on the really low branch I pointed out. After selecting another target, I decided on the larger, thicker branch a little above it.

"Try to use your knuckles as a unit of measurement. Go two knuckles to the left, and one up. Another branch should be resting about your index knuckle."

"Okay."

I leaned in, resting my head over he shoulder. Closing one eye, I guided her hand. She moved exactly as I told her, and the nut rested (in our vision) just above her knuckle.

"Amazing…"

She said. I smiled, letting go of her arm. Still, I remained by her side.

"Do you see those three bright stars?"

The passion in her eyes indicated that she had.

"That's the Orion's Belt. If you go two knuckles down, you'll find a star. Go a knuckle to the left, and you'll find another. Those are his legs. Those two above the belt form his chest. That faint one in between the two stars of the chest and roughly half a knuckle up forms the head. Those faint stars to his right are his arm and bow. The faint line of stars to the left shoulder are his hand, holding an arrow in preparation to fire at the bull in front of him."

"I see him…"

She gently stared up at the sky, tracing his body with her hands. "Orion..."

I smiled, looking at her beautiful face. It was so flawless, in the light of the stars. Her petite lips curled perfectly in a smile, the scar of her eye glowing with the radiance of her blue eyes.

"Trace his arrow arm up, and you'll find two bring stars. Each should be roughly only three knuckles away. See them?"

She nodded, pointing out there bodies.

"They're holding hands!"

"That's Gemini, but they are also called the Lovers, so it would make sense."

Weiss smiled, burying her head against my chest. She looked tired, but happy nonetheless. I don't think she realized that she had placed her head there, or maybe she did. Either way, my heart rate rocketed.

"This is nice."

I gently placed my hand on her forehead, feeling her soft hair. A small cold tingle hit my skin, causing my eyes to rise to the sky. While we were stargazing, it appeared some storm clouds brewed behind us.

Cold drops ripped from the sky, causing us both to sigh.

"Rain?"

"So much for the star gaze, then."

The water increased its speed of descent, occasionally splashing on the glowing leaves of the trees. Elena yelped a little bit and giggled as the cold water rained down on her skin. I got up and grabbed her hand, hoisting her up to join me. Throwing on my hood, I pointed to the large roughly twenty feet behind us.

"We can hide in there!" I said, running beneath its canopy. She giggled as the rain poured down, squeezing against me to fix under the protection. I turned red as her eyes met mine, seeing a similar color on her face.

"Mirror..." She said, her body pressed against mine to avoid the falling water. Weiss closed her eyes as she rose onto the tips of her toes, bringing her face to mine. My heart pounded as I gently closed my eyes, bringing my face closer to hers and pressing my lips to hers. Her arms rose, wrapping around my neck, my hands falling to her hips.

I knew then why my heart pounded.

I knew then what I had longed for in the isolation of the forest.


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you ready, Weiss?" I said. She nodded, looking to Blake and Velvet. We stood in the center of downtown, standing on the very statue of the founding father of Cardinal, Xanxu. Rae held up the camera, giving a thumbs up.

"We'll start in two minutes."

"Did Ozpin advertise this program?"

"Oh yeah, big time. 'Watch as Faunus and Schnee join in hands in peace, this Thursday at noon. I think it may even make up for the mix up yesterday.'" He said, taking his position.

"Velvet, are you ready?" I said, looking at her. She nodded, looking to Blake.

"What about you, Blake?"

"I'm ready." She said, taking off her ribbon and revealing her Faunus cat ears.

"Remember what you guys mentioned, and remember we are all friends, okay? This is the first step to a better world, if we can pull this off. Weiss, did we get Mr. Schnee's approval?"

"He's skeptical, but he accepts."

"We're on in five, Mirror." Rae said, looking down at his device. I nodded, retreating back behind the camera.

"Four, three, two…" He said, giving a motion to show we were live.

"Hello, all of Cardinal. My name is Weiss Schnee, daughter of Mr. Schnee. The very same who owns the Schnee Dust mines, and CEO of the SDC, and the very same who is known for his brutal labor. I am here today with Blake an Velvet, two Faunus themselves." She said, biting her lip. Blake nodded, speaking up.

"My name is Blake. Velvet and I, while never have worked in the mines, know many who have. My aunt died in the mines due to overworking." She said, Weiss flinching slightly. "She was very near and dear to my heart, and was like a mother to me. I can tell you that the Faunus are indeed being treated badly. Weiss, can you acknowledge this?"

"I can. Both Blake and Velvet have been through intense bullying within the 'safe' walls of Beacon. I, myself, have treated them badly. To ignore the brutal treatment of the Faunus is ignorant and offensive."

"Weiss is a nice girl." Velvet said quietly. "She had her own personal reasons to treat us like that, but she learned that its not okay, right?" She said, giving a slight fearful tone into the 'right', as if expecting Weiss to deny it.

"That's right. After spending much time with them, I learned how ignorant it was for me to judge an entire race off of the actions of a few. Blake and Velvet are both good friends of mine, and I'd never to anything to hurt them anymore."

I couldn't tell how much of this was really the truth, but she was doing spectacular. Did she really forgive the Faunus? Acknowledging that they weren't born evil and forgiving them are two very different things. I looked at the crowd of people who had formed since the beginning of the speech, numbering already in the 30s or 40s.

"So today, on behalf of both Faunus-kind and the Schnee family, no, of all Hunterkind, I request a ceasefire. Good people have died from this war, on both sides." Weiss said. Blake nodded, turning to the camera.

"Faunus, look at what we're doing. White Fang, what have we done? We have dehumanized and looked at the humans with the same prejudice. In trying to free ourselves from the racist ideals, we became racists ourselves. How many times have you, White Fang members, killed a civilian because they weren't Faunus? Judged someone because their lack of a pair of ears or a tail? How many families have you devastated?" Blake said, her voice trembling slightly. Weiss nodded.

"We aren't any better, and will not try to claim to be. Many, many innocent people have died in our mines, simply trying to provide for their family. We have stolen many good people like Blake's aunt from them, for no other reason than for profit. For that, I'm sorry." She said, Velvet biting her lip.

"It doesn't have to be like this!" She said suddenly, with a fearful voice. "We can all just stop." She said, taking a deep breath. "I had a dream, once. One where Faunus and all Hunterkind could get over their rivalries and hatred. The White Fang hate the Schnee for their harsh treatment, and the Schnee hate the White Fang for their dangerous attacks. We are proposing a treaty, a cease-fire." She said, handing Blake the paper. She stood, her black hair falling by her side.

"On this day, on the Sixty Second Great Cycle, we declare a cease-fire for both sides. If the White Fang remains inactive for more than two weeks, we will start the following terms. One, all Faunus will receive the same pay as any other Hunter. Two, all Faunus will receive benefit based on all loved ones lost in the mines or of any sickness or injury caused by it. Three, Any and all people caught disrespecting the Faunus within the mines will be suspended for a week or more, depending on the severity of the hate-crime, and will not receive pay during this period. These will begin immediately after two weeks of inactivity from the White Fang, and all other Faunus-radical groups. Upon a month of safe silence from the White Fang and or any other groups, the following will be implemented. One, complete restoration of Faunus rights in the workplace. Two, A formal apology for the mistreatment and groundless hatred that the Faunus have received from the Schnee family and the SDC. Three, jobs within the higher sections of the mines for all White Fang members who agree to these terms and set down there weapons." She said, looking around.

The Faunus of the crowd glanced upon her silently as she looked back down at her scroll, continuing to read. "They will be paid $40,000 dollars a year, and will not be put in any dangerous positions. This is only opened to the first hundred, unfortunately. Many more jobs will be available to the other members who either leave White Fang, or promise that the organization will be peaceful. Finally, upon one year of inactivity, the following will be put in place. Upon a year of inactivity , which is to say, the lack of an attack or violence, as per state regulation, the White Fang will officially be removed from the list of 'terrorism'. It will be reclassified as a peaceful organization, and we will hope to have built some trust between the Schnee Dust Company and the Faunus at that time." She said, the wing blowing slightly.  
I smiled at her, scanning the faces of the crowd. Everyone seemed to be silent and respectful, maybe even happy about what she was reading. Even the Hunters seemed pleased. "Two, all crimes preformed by any member of the White Fang done with the intention of anti-racist intent will be forgiven under the eyes of the law. Any member of the White Fang can officially leave and reveal their identity and leave with no fear of the government, regardless of the war-crimes they had since then performed. This, however, will only be done if they visit the Fang Graves, home of the graves of all the people who died fighting against the White Fang, including many civilians. Three, and finally, Faunus will be deemed completely and utterly equal in the eyes of the law. There will be no difference between Faunus and all Hunterkind lawfully. We cannot promise equality by treatment, as that is the responsibility of the people, but we will work to make this dream a reality together."

As is discovered with Ironwood's monopoly, the King lives on money. Mr. Schnee's bribes were more than enough to make him agree to these terms.

Weiss nodded, taking out her paper. "As for the terms of the Schnee family, the following will be performed. One, the Schnee family must also visit the graves of all that have died within the Schnee mines. Two, Mr. Schnee will officially retire from his position as CEO."

It was a big demand, but Weiss was right. Mr. Schnee really hated this war. He already had all the money a man could want, so he agreed to back down. He disliked the Faunus, but he disliked Death more.

"$1,000,000 dollars will be donated to the Faunus Recovery Foundation, a joint Faunus-Hunter society solely made for the purpose of rebuilding destroyed Faunus houses due to hate-crimes, and healing various other damages of the idea-war. Upon one year of pacifistic behavior, the following will be implemented. One, another $1,000,000 will be donated, but this will be from Mr. Schnee's personal funds. Two, a ceremony will be held, funded by the Schnee company, and will be called Day of the Gray, where the equality of Hunterkind will be celebrated. Mr. Schnee, along with the Schnee family, will be displayed publicly wearing Faunus ears, yearly, from now until the Schnee family dies." She paused, looking around the crowd.

Some of the crowd gave a worried look, glancing at their partners around them. I bit my lip, glancing over to Rae. He simple stood tall with his camera, recording the event and broadcasting it to the world.

With a clearing of her throat, she continued. "This is not done with the intention of humiliating the family, but rather of showing their wish for quality. It is a drive so intense, if it is as they claim, that the Schnee family would become the Faunus themselves, even if only for a day a year. Three, and finally, all divided places will end. Faunus water fountains will be removed, Faunus positions on public transportations will be removed, and all related issues will be removed, as an extension of the equality law." Weiss finished, rolling the scroll together. "Do you, Speakers of the Faunus, agree to these terms?"

"Yes." They both said. "But, as is mentioned, they will only go into effect depending on the actions of the White Fang. We cannot speak for them." Velvet added. The Faunus of the crowd cheered with them, signifying their agreement.

"And Weiss Schnee, Speaker of the Schnee Dust Company, do you agree to these terms?"

"I do." She said, joined by the cheer of the rest of the crowd. Blake nodded.

"Than it is in effect."

Weiss rose from their seats, walking and looking into the camera.

"Then today, equality reigns! Today marks the beginning to the end of this war! Let's get through this toge-"

That's when it happened.

Weiss was interrupted in a geyser of crimson, blood spilling from her chest. Time slowed as I saw the bullet tear through her outfit as she fell to the ground.

_"WEISS!"_ I screamed in shock, running up to her. Velvet screamed, throwing her hands to cover her mouth. Rae stumbled back, Blake falling to her side. Our hands instantly went to the wound, trying to cover it up and slow the bleeding.

"Oh my god… Oh my god…" Blake said in horror, her hands already caked in blood.

"Weiss, Weiss!? Stay with me!" I shouted, looking into her blue eyes, Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, her speech limited to painful chokes and coughs. Screams erupted from the crowd as they fled, Blake's eyes fearfully scanning the crowd.

"It's a sniper. Mirror, we need to _move._" Blake said with fear, her eyes scanning the buildings of downtown.

"But Weiss!" I shouted, my eyes blurry with some liquid.

"Take her!" Blake shouted. I noticed similar tears spilling from her face as she drew her sword, turning it into a gun.

"Weiss, can you hear me? Weiss!" I shouted, taking her into my arms. She coughed, blood spilling onto my shirt.

"Rae!" I shouted, tears now openly falling from my face. He glanced at me with a look of fear, then down at the woman in my arms. The camera fell from his hands as he ran towards me-

_BANG_

The second bullet screeched as it tore through the sky, hitting the man's head. The face of Rae exploded in a spill of crimson and gray matter, his body falling to the ground. Bile spilled through my throat, choking my scream.

"Blake!?" I shouted, looking at the girl. Her black hair fluttered as she held her gun, firing into the area that the sniper had shot from.

"Get_ out_!" She shouted. Nodding, I gripped Weiss tighter as I ran into the alleyways, weaving in and out of the maze of buildings. Concrete and metal flew past me, people screaming and covering their heads with their hands. Gunfire erupted on the horizon, the sky almost dripping red with blood. Turning to a dead end I stopped, setting her down. Blood nearly caused her to slip from my hands as I inspected her wound.

Her chest was torn open. There would be no surviving this.

"Weiss…" I cried, looking down at her.

"Mirror… Don't… let today go to waste." She said, her hand shaking as it met my cheek. I took her hand in mine, ignoring the blood she had spread on my face.

"Don't talk like that, Weiss! I'm going to get you out of here! You're going to live!" I shouted, frantically trying to convince myself. I whirred through the knowledge of the Forbidden Books, trying to find _something. _There had to be some way to help her!

There was nothing.

"I'm… scared, Mirror. I don't…. want to die." She said, her voice catching in her throat. I watched in horror as her hand went limp in mine, her eyes fading to something beyond me.

"Weiss?! Weiss?! _WEISS!"_ I shouted, her blue eyes looking at something beyond me. I screamed, tears falling from my face as I gripped her tighter. My head buried into her shoulder as I screamed again, cursing everything there was. I slowly drew back, looking at her soft face. It was blank, completely void of life. The usual color of her skin was completely gone, now a bleached snow white. Blood glowed as it slowly dripped from her chin, my throat catching. My hands slowly closed her eyes for the last time, my legs shaking as I stood up.

They…killed her..

_I _killed her.

I placed my hands over my face as my back hit the wall, a scream escaping my throat. Weiss was dead. _I _had told her to say those things. _I _had put her in a spot wide out in the open, thinking it would come off better to White Fang. That they would have took it wrong if we broadcasted from a bunker. _My_ mistake killed her.

I needed to get help. Maybe… Maybe she could still be saved. I tried to convince myself of the impossible.

"Weiss, I'll be back." I said, my voice catching. I am not leaving her, I am getting help. I will back, sure as the sun rises. Breaking out into a run, I weaved through alleyway and alleyway, trying to find someone.

"Help! Help, please! Someone is hurt! Please, Help! Someone, anyone!" I shouted, scanning the buildings for _anyone_. I turned the corner, entering the street.

And there

In the middle of the street

Were a squad of White Fang, each carrying a rifle.

"That's him, fire!" One shouted, their rifles aiming on me. I fell back in shock, fumbling for my weapon as their rifles exploded, bullets tearing through the sky.

And tearing into my flesh.

I screamed as I felt the lead pierce through my bones and painting the road a horrid crimson. Each bullet ate away at my flesh, spilling tissue and bone fragments out onto the asphalt. They emptied their clips, the world blurring as I blacked out.

As I died.


	12. Chapter 12

Pain. A stimulation. A feeling. An emotion. Maddening, so, so maddening. Death. Painful. Weiss. Dead. Painful. I hurt because she hurt, because she'd dead. I died because she died. I was killed because I killed her.

Rotting. Decay. Maggots. Black, withered tissue filled my vision, steam erupting from my wound. Snow. Perfection. Death. To be perfect was to die, and by my hand. I killed perfection.

_"GYAAAAAAH!"_

A scream. Mine, probably.

Air. It flowed through my hair, my eyes fluttering open.

_And as I stood there, dying, I see a Raven._

The bird flapped its strong wings, carrying me in its claws. My hair was fully dyeing black, flesh burning in fire and flames.

_In my sleep, an escaped snore._

_The Lich cursed my flesh, always rotting, never a haven._

My throat itches as another scream builds up within my chest, tearing away at my deflated lungs and destroyed heart.

Heart, destroyed. Her death destroyed my heart, had killed me.

_Of the tainted, my darkness bore_

_My body cracked, hanging limply._

_"To be alive is to experience death? To live is to die?" I did roar._

_To which the Raven replied but simply._

_"Nevermore."_

I screamed, tissue swallowing my leg and eating it away. I screamed, my flesh coming undone as it spit metal out of my chest. I screamed, my bones cracking and reforming in a bloody mass.

_I looked down upon the Raven, my eyes filled with wrath._

_"She was taken from me, and for no reason other than my own? Is she alive?! Does she live?!"_

_My mind cracked, giving a laugh._

_The bird, my psyche did give._

_To which the Raven replied, its soul in half._

_"Nevermore."_

_"GYAAAAAAH!"_

A scream escapes my throat, piercing the heavens as the three Fates attempted to cut my strings, to end my puppetry.

_"Tell me, 'O Raven. In such a world, can God exist? Is there a being who watches us die and smile?!"_

_It flapped its wings, seeming ever so lonely._

_My brain dripping with a venom vile._

_To which the Raven replied only._

_"Nevermore."_

I was an extension of God, of the one who killed. I was the hand of Death. I kill. I slaughter. I end. Blood. I spilled it. He took me and damned me, punishing himself for his enjoyment of Death.

The beating of her heart still assaulted me in the throbbing mass of flesh in bone, another scream escaping my throat. Fate cut my string and cut it again, but again the strings would heal and reseal, stronger and thicker then ever.

_"Raven, please release me! Is there Happiness in Death?! Can I escape by leaving this Pain!"_

_My corpse, flying through the sky._

_Her cursed caw, it was my bane!_

_To which the Raven did reply._

_"Nevermore."_

My Mother, Raven, the Nevermore.

My threads of fate hissed as they weaved together, forming a rope. A rope, which could never be cut with the simple scissors of the Fates. A rope, never to be explained by logic. Death, with its soft blue eyes and pure white dress, would never see me again. Death, with its cut eye and torn chest, would never see me again.

_"AAAAAAAAAH!"_ I screamed, but no longer in pain. The flesh had retreated, forming my body once again. The wounds had been healed, perfected, and giving life yet again. I screamed at the sight of Weiss, slaughtered and murdered in front of my eyes.

But that image faded, leaving only the bird that carried me.

I looked down, watching the cities and forest fly by as the bird flew into the gale, away from where I had died.

Raven. My Mother.

This Nevermore that carried me in its claws was my Mother. She took the form of the beast, only identifiable by the same bone mask that was worn on its face. This was her Semblance. This would be my Semblance. To become the creatures with no Semblance, for that was there Semblance.

I looked down at my body, blood staining my outfit and dripping from the talons of the Nevermore.

_"We are almost there. Stay awake, little cub." _It howled, rattling my still healing bones.

My mind raced as it translated the guttural growls and screeches that escaped its throat.

"Weiss… Is Weiss dead?!" I shouted over the winds, grabbing the scaled flesh of the foot.

_"She is dead. I'm sorry, little cub."_

"W…What are you talking about! She can't be dead!"

Rae. His destroyed skull filled my mind, brain matter spilling onto the streets. There was nothing to confirm with him

"And Blake?"

_"I don't know."_

"…"

The bird said nothing, merely flapping its large winds as the grand city of Wrath flew by beneath us, still somewhat destroyed from the Nights of Grimm. Even so, I noticed the people scream as they saw the massive Nevermore fly past their city, its gales destroying windows and raining glass.

"Where are we going?"

_"We are traveling to the City of Blood."_

"What? Where is that? What is that!"

_"It's a Grimm Settlement."_

A… Grimm Settlement? Like, a city? What the hell is going on! Why was Raven a Nevermore? Why wasn't I dead?! Why didn't my Lich Virus let me die!?

"Let me go! Drop me! Kill me!" I shouted, thrashing violently in her talons.

_"Sleep, little cub."_

Her talons crushed my ribs, causing me to scream in pain as the world faded away into pure blackness.

_..._

My eyes lifted slowly, the red flame illuminating the dark. I coughed, scratching away hardened blood from my chin as I rose, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. My hands searched the floor, feeling a familiar wood brush against the tips of my fingers. Feeling in front of me, I felt them tower up in thin but strong pillars, forming the bars of a cage.

"Where am I?" I asked the darkness.

"You're awake, then? Finally." Said a masculine voice.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to focus on his face. It almost seemed like a ghost, barely visible in the darkness beyond the cage. Was I jailed in, or was he?

"You mean you don't remember? I suppose a lot has changed." Said the voice. I attempted to look harder at the ghost's face, trying to place the identity. The voice was nothing I knew, but even so, I felt I should know it.

"It's too dark to see…" I said.

"To think you lived so long in the world of the light. Appalling. Your eyes haven't lived in the darkness like most Grimm did."

"Grimm?"

The voice. The face of a ghost.

It clicked.

Bile filling my throat.

I was speaking to a ghost.

And his name was Vigilance.

"Brother?!" I shouted, gripping at the bars of the cage.

"So you do recognize me? I'm impressed." He said, giving a slight chuckle. Things had changed, sure, but it was him. His hair was the familiar shade of gray of my own and Ozpin's. Even so, the features of Raven spoke as clearly on his face as they had on mine.

"How are you alive?!"

"Do you really think getting swallowed could kill me? I just tore my way out of that beasts stomach. It took a day or two, though. It wasn't fun, I'll tell you that. The burns of his stomach acid didn't heal for months, even with my regeneration."

"What's going on? Where's Mother?"

"She's resting. Do you know how much energy flying across Remnant in the Blood of the Beast takes?"

"Blood… of the Beast? The Lich Virus? Her Grimm form?"

"Exactly. You always did learn quickly."

"Where are we?"

My world spun in that moment. Not because of the dead man in front of me, or the news he was speaking of, but how he spoke it. In that moment, I realized we weren't speaking English, but rather the language that Raven had spoke of when she carried the Blood of the Beast. His guttural growls hummed in my head, perfectly translating. Whether this was because of the Forbidden Books within my neck or my childhood, I could not say.

"The City of Blood, capital of Tooth Valley"

"Tooth Valley?"

"A land just beyond the Cardinal circle. The land of the Grimm."

"What? Why am I in a cage?" I asked.

"The Alpha must see you. Judge that you don't bother the safety of out pack."

"What? Isn't the Alpha part of the Graynest or something? I thought Mother was apart of some Blacktimber."

"Blackwood, yes."

"Than I'm in enemy territory?"

"No, the Graynest and the Blackwood are allies."

"Aren't they polar opposites? I thought the Graynest wanted to slaughter the Hunters?"

"They do. Even so, they are a part of the same faction. At this point in time, they have an alliance. Its delicate, but we have to keep out of war however we can."

"Then Phantomclaw is allied also?"

"Not at this moment, but they are passive."

"Let me out, Vigil. I need to speak with Mother."

"No can do, bro. Also, my name isn't Vigilance anymore. It's Mercury, Mercury Black."

"W..What? Like, a part of Cinder's gang?"

"Yep. She's currently allied with the Phantomclaw, and so I'm following her around checking to make sure she's alright."

"Alright?"

"Not trying to forge the second Covenant."

"The…what? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked the gray ghost in the shadow.

"C'mon, Mirror! Don't you know your history? The Grimm were made from the evil extracted from man."

"The Lich Virus."

"That's the one. So, with the virus removed, we became Hunters. The Second Covenant is the crazy idea held by the Phantomclaw that we need to infect the Hunters again with the Lich Virus and become whole."

"What?"

"That's what we all think. They're crazy."

Crazy. The word brings me back to the insanity of being carried through the air as my body was ravaged by the Lich Virus. Then to the corpse of Rae and Weiss.

"What happened to Beacon?! Where the hell are my friends?!"

"Dude, All of Cardinal has officially plunged into civil war. After the White Fang pulled that sneaky assassination, the Schnee family had enough. They stormed the streets that very day, killing any Faunus carrying a weapon. Ironwood freaked out, and attacked them. Beacon had no choice but to ally with the Schnee family, and now everyone's fighting a two front war."

"…What?"

"Are you deaf or what? I said that Cardinal is dying. The whole thing is ravaged by war. Its said a thousand died last night alone."

I felt sick. I caused this. I put Weiss up there, and didn't defend her. Because of my incompetence, Weiss died and the country was plunged head first into a civil war.

"I caused this…"

"Well, I can't deny that. You fucked up pretty badly, but thanks. Its giving Graynest a pretty good edge on the power struggle."

"What?"

"Now that Hunterkind is at its weakest, we're going to have no time convincing the other factions to join us in the Crusade. Phantomclaw can join us and infect everyone, but we'll slaughter them before that. If Blackwood wants the land to feed their cubs, they'll have to join in too."

"You want you slaughter us?! You're on their side?!"

"Of course. Those Hunter pigs disgust me. Do you see how they treat people different than themselves?"

"We were fixing that!"

"And looked how it turned out. Sorry bro, but Hunterkind is screwed. Join us or fight us, but you'll probably die either way."

"Excuse me?"

"You're weak. You can barely carry the Blood of the Beast. I mean really, I hear you can't even fully transform. Out in the wilderness, our cubs could do that before they could walk."

"I'm… weak?"

"You nearly died to a firing squad, so I hear. I mean, really?! You'll never be able to kill a Hunter."

"I'm not going to kill any Hunters! My friends are over there!"

"Pity. They brainwashed you, didn't they? Telling you the Grimm were monsters and about how evil we are. We're just regular humans infected with the virus, but they don't see that."

"And that merits murdering them?!"

"After all the cubs of ours they have killed? Every Beowolf was a trainee, you know. A cub, trying to learn the ways of war and how to control the Blood of the Beast. Yet you slaughter them, by the dozens, like they were nothing. Those were people!"

"We didn't know that!"

"And whose fault is that, Mirror?! It sure as hell ain't ours!"

"You… You said you were allied with the White Fang."

"Cinder is."

"And look what you've done! You killed my friends! Weiss, Rae, and probably Blake! Yet you claim to be a saint yourself!"

"Saint? Ha! I know killing isn't good, but I don't care. Those Hunters need to die."

"Listen to yourself! Do you hear how messed up you are?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I have my reasons, and you have yours."

A howl erupted, faintly echoing into our chambers. Vigilance cleared his throat, rising and opening the cage. He grabbed my arm, his fingers turning to bone and wrapping around my arm.

"It's time to meet the Alpha. Pray that he doesn't make you his next meal." He said, throwing me out the whole in the darkness. I hit dirt, which sprayed and spilled into my mouth as I slid. My eyes burned as it adjusted to the new level of light. It was about that of the midnight sky, yet I found no stars in the sky. Even so, the towers of gigantic trees were easily visible, each glowing with what almost seemed to be a star on their trunks.

"What is this?"

"The world those monsters never knew, Tooth Valley. Amazing, isn't it?" He said, pulling up me up by my shoulder and shoving me forward.

"What happened to you, Vigil? You weren't like this when we were kids."

"Bro, it's been like ten years. Shit happens. People you love die, and possibly by the hands of the people you call 'friends'."

"I'm telling you that we didn't know!"

"So what?" He said, pushing me across the gigantic space and into another tree. This one was hollow, its wooden ceiling stretching hundreds of feet into the air, glowing berries illuminating the room. I looked across the room as men and beasts piled in, sitting and hanging from the internal roots, which gathered at the end of the room in a throne. There, sitting in his grand chair, was a man with dead black hair. His beard was thick, his body covered in Grimm leather. His clothes, forged out of the corpses of his own people. The man cleared his throat, his beast like eyes settling on me.

"Is this the Hunter?"

"Yes, Alpha." Vigil said, letting go of me. My eyes scanned the room bouncing around the faces of people.

People. Not beasts. Whose Semblances was to call upon the monsters in their blood and take the form of beasts. Who we had slaughtered by the thousands without thought. How many Grimm had I killed?

But there, next to the Alpha, in a second throne, sat a person that made my blood boil. His hair was also black, his eyes glowing red. His body had lacked the monstrous form it had before, but something about him clicked. His stench or something along those lines harmonized with my blood.

He was the one who 'killed' my family. I guess he did a poor job.

"Very well. Let us begin his trial. Hunter, what is your name?"

"Mirror Black." I said, causing the crowd to laugh.

"Not that Hunter propaganda. I mean your blood name! The howl you give as you tear into the flesh of your enemies!"

I knew of no such name. No, it didn't matter if I did. That was not who I was.

"Mirror Black!" I shouted, causing the Alpha's grin to fade.

"I see you really are the daughter of Raven. Very well. What say you in your defense? You have been found slaughtering our kind, and cooperating with the enemy."

"The one named Cinder is joined with Hunters, why isn't she getting a trial?" I asked. He chuckled.

"You know nothing of our politics, so stop trying to act like you do. Cinder is a part of Phantomclaw, who get an official pardon regarding the interaction of Hunterkind. You, however, are just a cub of a noble."

"I don't know what you are, and I don't claim to!" I shouted, looking around. "I don't know where I am, or why I'm here! I don't know why Raven brought me here, and I didn't know Grimm were living people!" I shouted.

"So you claim Ignorance?"

"Yes!" I yelled, causing Vigil to chuckle.

"Ignorance merits execution, in this world. Those too dumb to not understand the world they live in do not deserve the ability to change it."

"Indeed. 'Mirror Black.' Do you still wish to claim Ignorance?"

"I didn't know! You can't kill me for that!"

"Are you ordering _me?!_" The Alpha roared, his eyes glowing red with anger. I took a step back, fear crawling up my spine. I didn't know what was happening, and the world needed to slow down. Here I was, after an assassination, being tried for murder. It made sense in a literal way, but I wasn't being tried for the death that mattered.

That was why I was fighting. Tooth and Nail. He… He had a card to play in her death. Rae and Weiss are gone, and he didn't care.

He didn't care.

My blood boiled, bones clicking from my hands.

_He didn't care!_

_"I WILL NOT DIE HERE! YOU KILLED MY KIN!"_

I roared, my howl echoing around the grand hall. Silence infected the noise, to the point where a pin could drop. The Alpha put a hand to his beard, looking to my families murderer.

"Spine, what do you feel about this? He obviously has a will."

"Alpha, if he has a will, let him prove it."

"Even though he can't carry the Blood of the Beast?"

"Good point. Even so, he fought me all those years ago. Let him show his spirit."

"Then he should fight his blood, no? Raven is too weak at this moment. Besides, his spirit is enough to be tried Innocent? He slaughtered our kin, and is allied with the Blackwood ideals. I do not feel he should be allowed to live." The king said.

"Then I shall face him. If he can last more than a minute in a brawl against a Knight of the Grimm, than he can be fully accepted back into Grimm society. He'll have proven his strength, his vigor, his will, and his loyalty to his kin, even if his kin are that of the Hunters. Time will teach him his true kin." Said Spine.

I would fight the man who killed my brother? Who hurt my Mother? The brother I knew died that night, that much is certain. That was the day Vigilance ended and Mercury began.

I could not receive a better blessing.

"I accept!" I shouted, the crowd gasping. He was stronger than my Mother, who was an unbelievable powerful Nevermore, something that I could never kill by myself. Even so, I didn't need to kill it, only survive for a minute.

And surviving seemed to be something I was very, very good at.


	13. Chapter 13

"Here, you'll need this." Mercury said with a smirk, throwing me my Bone Crusher. I grabbed the weapon out of mid air.

"Thanks." I said, putting no emotion in my words. Spine, as they called him, rose from his throne. The angel of death took slow steps down the branches, his eyes lusting for the spill of my blood. There was a reason, all those years ago, that he slaughtered my family. It may have been political, but there was another motive blurred within, a reason for such a bloodlust. He had just as much motive for my death as I did his.

I clicked my sword into sniper mode, feeling my blood boil over ten fold. His face, my families murderer, morphed into a beast. It clicked as bone grew from his skin, forming the skull of some unidentifiable monster. The skull was fine and long, almost like that of a wolf. Nay, a dire wolf. Even so, it was powerful, speaking of that like a bear. Black muscle tore from his flesh in a spill of petal blood, forming long strands of tissue. They hardened to bone, more muscle wrapping around and forming the powerful limbs and claws of the beast.

"Let the Trial by Bloodspill begin!" Shouted the Alpha.

I held up my rifle, setting my sights on his body as flesh swallowed him. The rifle exploded upwards in recoil as the bullet tore into the chest of his human host, blood spilling. His wolf howled in pain, flesh filling the wound and hardening into fur. Spine growled, my hand flying to the cock of the gun and ejecting the old bullet. My hand spun the dial, selecting the ice dust option.

Electricity would stun him, maybe slow regeneration.

Fire would burn his flesh, and cause massive damage.

Ice, however, would slow him. I needed time.

My sights moved away from his head as I dropped to my knee. He howled, breaking into a charge. My eyes flicked to his right claw, firing the moment it touched the ground. The bullet hissed as it shot through the air, exploding and flash freezing the tissue of his claw to the floor. Spine instantly broke through the ice as if it was nothing, his claw tearing into my stomach and throwing me into the air.

I choked, blood spilling from my mouth as I hit the ceiling, air struggling to fill my lungs. My wound hissed as I fell to the ground, my hands shaking as I held the rifle out before me, switching the dial to fire and pulling the trigger. Flames exploded on his head with a hiss of steam as his tail swatted me away, causing me to skid on the ground and tearing into my armor.

"Gah!" I spat, bouncing on the ground in a heap.  
_Five seconds in._

My finger clicked the button, the sniper clicking as its thick barrel folded out my blade. My left hand fell to my stomach, likely holding in some of my entrails. Spine growled again, breaking into a charge.

_Think._

_How to take down Goliath._

_Find a weakness._

My blurry vision watched the monster as it ran for me, opening its mouth . Thousands of razor sharp teeth greeted me, my gut clicking.

_Its huge._

_That's it, it's huge._

I ran toward the monster, dropping my hand from my stomach and placing my second hand on my greatsword. A war cry escaped my throat as I jumped from my run and fell to a slide, falling beneath his powerful claws and thrusting my sword up into its stomach, tearing open all its vitals and causing them to spill onto the floor. I leaped upwards, nearly slipping in the gallons of blood that spilled onto the wood.

_"GRRRAAAAH!"_ It howled, turning and slashing its claw downwards.

Large things can't move easily. It's the law of inertia.

I leaped to the side, falling down as I dodged the claw. It pounded into the ground, splintering the floor and sending shrapnel of wood into my leg. I screamed in pain, thrusting my sword down and slicing off part of its paw.

It thrust its head down, trying to bite into my leg.

My blood boiled, my mind threatening to go feral.

_No, I need to keep a clear mind if I need to win this. This isn't a matter of who's the strongest. He dwarves me in every aspect if we compare strength._

I held the barrel of my sword, otherwise defined as the back of the sword's blade. His teeth bit into the blade, shoving me down into the ground and forcing me down to a knee.

_I need to weaken him._

I leaped to the side, pulling my blade out and twirling around. My blade sliced through the bone of his head, destroying his right eye. He growled, swiping his left paw across. I fell to the floor, slicing across the side of his paw. The wound would cut the tendons, disabling the limb.

_Twelve._

I jumped back as it roared, thrusting its dead limb my direction.

_One eye._

Another weakness that I could manage. I ran it, striking at the bone of his face with my sword as it reared back in pain.

_Focus on me, you mutt. Use that one eye of yours. Focus on the tip of my blade._

It hissed, tilting its head to adjust for the lack of the right eye. The right side of Spine's head hissed with steam as it regenerated, his horrid yellow eye locking with mine. I attacked several times more, making sure he focused on my short ranged attacks.

And the moment he did.

At fifteen seconds in.

I leaped back, stabbing my sword into ground. The creature growled, thrusting its paws in my direction, but I didn't move. The claws passed harmlessly in front of me, much to the dismay of Spine. He howled in anger, striking again. Again, the claw missed its mark, landing in the ground in front of me. He was incapable of hitting me.

He had one eye, no depth perception.

He growled, charging over me and swiping his tail down. I dodged to the right, slashing into the limb and watching as it reared the newly healed section of its head. It roared again, charging back and opening its wide teeth. With a grunt, I leapt to the right, the massive monster running right past me. It dug its claws into the wood, forcing itself into a stop.

I needed to disable this monster.

I watched as it turned, slashing its claw at a 45 degree angle, allowing me to take a step back. The claw pounded into the ground, my sword grinding as I tore into a run. I placed my foot on the thick fur, running up the length of its limb and leaping over his back, slashing at the spine of his upper back.

And cutting the spinal cord.

The entire beast fell to the ground as I landed calmly, my eyes glowing red and the roots of my hair turned pitch black. With its spine cut, its entire body became useless.

_Twenty._

I slashed at the monsters head, cutting away at all the flesh I could. I cracked the jaw, forcing the mouth to fall uselessly open as the monster roared back to life, its spine completely healed. Even so, its mouth was useless, causing his thrust of the head to only result in an opening. I cut into the bridge of the snout, causing blood to fill into his nasal cavity. Taking his head as a stepping stone, I cut again at the base of his spine. His lower legs fell to the ground, my sword turning to a sniper and turning the dial to ice. As I flew in the air, I locked my sights with the torn spine, pulling the trigger.

Ice erupted over the wound, further slowing regeneration.

I ran up the wall, grabbing branch after branch and pulling myself up into its mass. If he found me, he would be able to slash at the base of the tree and cause it to fall.

But he wouldn't.

At thirty seconds, half of a minute, he was able to walk again, his head fumbling around. The darkness blinded him, giving him no way to see me with his eyes at a long range. Much like many predators did, he relied on smell.

And so thus, the cut snout filled his nasal cavity with blood.

He roared, slashing at air. The crowd laughed at his humiliation, further adding to his frenzy. Even so, the monster sneezed, spilling blood onto the wood. Spine raised its head to the air, taking two large sniffs. He stumbled around slowly, slashing into the base of the wooden scaffold I rested in.

I leapt from the branch, pulling out my rifle and switching the setting to fire. My sights danced around the wood, firing into its trunk as rapidly as I could, setting the tree ablaze. The flaming trunk collapsed onto the creature, causing Spine to roar as he burned.

_Thirty nine seconds._

He tore out of the flaming mass, char revealing damaged tissue and bone. He howled, charging towards my direction. I fell back in recoil, expecting him to have been disabled for at least another few seconds. Fate laughed as Spine lowered his head and wrapped his jaws around me, his teeth stabbing into my rib cage.

_"GYAAAAAAAH!"_ I screamed in pain, feeling the bone of his teeth tear into my organs and pop my lungs. My hands fumbled for the button, forcing the sniper into sword mode. Another scream escaped me as blood spilled onto my boots, my hands raising the sword far about my head. My screams of pain melted into a cry of blood as I stabbed the blade into the skull of his head, stabbing straight into his brain.

The monster instantly let me go, my corpse falling to the floor. I sputtered, no air filling my lungs. My body was destroyed in one attack, and the monster wasn't dead. Even now the steam hissed as his brain regenerated, his jaw clicking to life.

With no lungs to breath, a violent cough arched my back as forced my eyes open in pain.

I was dead.

At forty two seconds.

I would die.

The monster pulled itself over to my body, opening its jaw and revealing its massive teeth. I weakly raised my hands, wrapping them around the slowly moving teeth. I kicked my broken leg beneath me, putting every spark of energy I had into pushing him away.

Even so, I was broken. I didn't have enough energy to tear paper. No, the reason the monster stood still was not because of my power. It hadn't killed me of its own accord. I gritted my teeth, weakly punching it in the eye. It merely closed its thick fleshy eyelid over it in order to protect it, focusing its left eye on me.

"Die…" I said weakly, grabbing a fist full of its fur. "Why won't you… die…"

Fifty seconds.

I bit into my lip, my eyes watering.

"You killed them, you left me alone… Why won't you kill me?" I asked, burying my head into its snout..

"Survive, die, survive, die! Why can't… I decide what I want…" I said, tears now fully flowing from my clenched shut eyes.

"I... I felt something. I was something, and you took it away..." I said, my weakened knees finally giving out. I flopped to the floor, the Grimm removing its head from my body. I watched as it melted away, returning to his human form. He walked over to me, giving me a smile.

And at sixty seconds, I lived.


	14. Chapter 14

Spine sat down next to me, scratching at his thick beard.

"You fought well, little cub."

"Why… didn't you kill me?" I asked, my wounds hissing as they healed.

"Because you fought well. Every man who lasted that long in the ring with me is either dead, my enemy, both, or my new drinking friend. I'll take you as the last one."

"My tricks were cheap." I said, wincing as I sat up.

"There are no cheap tricks in war. Honor is for the house, but acting like a fox is for the battlefield. You used your head, and you used your strength. That is a great power that not many have." He said, looking to the various judges in the room. He patted my torn shoulder, grunting as he rose.

"Let it be known. On today, seven suns before the full moon, the one named Mirror Black survived the Trial by Bloodspill against myself. I, Spine, Knight of the Grimm, declare this cub Innocent of all charges and an official warrior of Tooth Valley. He is to be treated as my squire!" He shouted, the crowd giving a 'Grr'Ah!", almost like a 'Hoorah!". Spine turned to his Alpha, placing his hand on his heart and falling to his knee. "Does the Alpha of the City of Blood approve of this statement?"

He leaned back in his chair, his face blurred by the darkness and the distance.

"…I do." He said proudly.

"Then it is set in bone." He said, taking me into his arms. His chiseled face set down on me, a smile coming to his lips. "I will take you to the nursery to be healed. Your Mother and the fresh cubs live there, so I bet you'll like it."

"Thanks…" I said, my world fading. Even so, my mind remained relatively clear. I had lived. I had survived. I had been torn away from Death yet again. I still didn't know if that was a good or bad. Even so, I had earned my place in Grimm society. I was a squire of a Knight. A Knight of the Grimm, who functioned under the branch of Graynest. The enemy. Even so, my ally. What would this lead to? How long would I live in a society bred to hate Hunters, under the man who had killed my family?

He placed me in a hammock, time completely fading away. My eyes glanced around the room, looking at the newborns next to me, each sleeping in their own cradle of rope. Spine looked to the woman next to me, brushing his hand against her face. She raised her soft red eyes on the man, a soft smile coming to her lips.

"Raven, he lives."

"That's… good. Where is he?"

"Right next to you. Let me fetch the witchdoctor."

"Don't go, Spine…" She said, holding his hand tighter.

Ozpin… Spine… How many faces does her heart hold?

"I must, for both you and your cub. Do you want him to die?"

"Of course not…" She said, her voice dozing off. With that, Spine left us and I lost track of the sands of time. The fireflies and glowing berries catch my attention, their glow melting away my pain and hypnotizing me into a dull state.

I almost didn't notice the man cutting into my stomach.

"Who are you?" I said, my mind fogged by the light of the berries.

"The Witchdoctor. M'name's Scar, but 'ya can call meh whatevar ya'd like." He said, his accent thick. It almost sounded like a northern accent, which confused me in the guttural growls of the Grimm language. I smiled weakly, my pain all but absorbed by the sullen luminescence of the berries and fireflies.

"My name's Mirror Black." I said, my mind wandering. He chuckled, taking out pieces of bone from my torn abdomen.

"I know. 'Twas there at theh trial. Good fightin, 'ya did." He said.

"What are you doing to me?"

"Oh, this? I'm just cuttin' 'ya open an' takin' out the broken bone. Aftar that, I'll take some pure Lich cells an' stick 'em right in you're woun'. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah…"

"If 'te hypno-lights don't do it fer 'ya, let meh know. I'll give 'ya some ambrosia. It'll put 'ya right to sleep, it will."

"I'm good, thanks."

"So Ah here 'ya from te city. Any truth 'ta that?"

"Yeah. I attended Beacon Academy until I started a civil war." I said, giving a delusional chuckle as I looked at the lights. "I killed my best friend and the only girl I ever cared about besides my Mother and Lily."

"Ah know whatcha mean. Mah wife died a few years back. 'Twas all due to some twat that was angry at meh fer not saving his son. I couldn't, 'ya know? The son had a torn hippocampus, so no Lich Cells gonna be produced. I gave him mah entire supply, I did. Even so, couldn't do it. He ended up killin' her befer mah very eyes."

"I'm so sorry." I said. He smiled weakly as he pulled out more bone, setting down his bloody tools.

"'Tis no big deal. Ah know how things are. Ah hear you now the squire of that Spine. True?"

"Yeah."

"A good guy, he is. Always cares for the cubs, even above his own life. A soft spot in him, 'cause his own cub died when 'twas only a few moons old."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I hear the mother died in the birthin'. I wasn't on duty that day, though." He said, taking a metal gun-like machine out from his coat. He placed it in my stomach, squirting out black sludge onto my wound. "These are 'te cells. 'Ya know 'bout them?"

"I do. I studied them back home."

"Oh, really? Pretty cool, they are. In 'te Dead Wurld, they were called infected stem cells. 'Te virus takes over these cells, and makes 'em transform into any cell they need. Brilliant stuff, it is. I'll make 'em change intah stomach cells, I will. You're body should be able 'tah handle 'te regeneration, but it'll help."

"Thanks."

"Ain't nothing 'ta thank. 'Tis mah job. If Ah didn't do it, Ah wouldn't have 'ta silver t feed mah cubs."

"Silver?"

"'Tis how we pay things here. I hear back in the Hunter wurld, they pay with papar. I couldn't imagin' it. Payin' with dead trees? Disgustin'."

"Do you hate the Hunters?"

"Me? Ah, naw. I may be 'te Witchdoctor of 'te Graynest, but it only 'cause I need the silver. Sure, 'te Hunter are different. A lot of people are different, but that don't mean we should cut 'em fer it. I hear they don't know a lot if things. True?"

"True. They can't be held accountable for their actions at this moment. Right now, they're cornered and scared, and are blaming each other for it."

"'Xactly mah point. Every animal get scared when they are trapped. No reason to cut 'em fer it." He said, pausing and wiping the blood of his hands. He fumbled for another tool, placing it within my stomach. "Best you start leanin' how to be a Grimm."

"Why?"

"So you can take advantage. Yah are the Squire of a Knight, boy. That ain't no lowly position. I mean, you are basically a slave, but Spine will likely treat 'ya more like his own cub, he will. Change 'te wurld from 'te inside, I say. I've been tryin' fer years, but I'm just a witchdoctor. Nawbody gonna listen to me."

"I'll listen."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Let's be friends."

"Oh, goodie. Always good 'tah have friends in high places, it is. Anyhow, that's it fer 'ya treatment. The cells should spread, so just try 'ta stay still."

"Scar?" I said, taking a look at his face. I looked eyes with his golden stare, looking at his dark brown hair. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't place it. Nobody I knew, but someone I had seen pictures of, probably.

"Yes, mah boy?"

"When will the Third Night of the Grimm occur?"

"Oh, it's not sure yet. Knowin' them, though, Ah gotta say it gonna be the next full moon. Not this one, but the next."

"So just over a month, then?"

"'Xactly."

"Thank you, Scar." I said. "How is my mother?"

"Oh, Raven? She'd be fine even if Ah didn't treat 'er. Sh'just needs some rest, though." He said, taking his tablet and walking away, a Tablet.

"Oh, Scar. How advanced is Tooth Valley?"

"Like, with tech? Oh, we prolly know more than 'ya Hunters do." He said this, walking out of the Nursery.

And that was that. He walked out, my eyes still locked on the glowing berries. The fireflies floated through the air, settling on the bridge of my nose, wooing me to sleep. I wa00s in enemy territory. I don't care about what my Mother thinks, or about Mercury. These people knew the people that killed Weiss and Rae, and let them live.

I would treat them as such.

...

I struggled to stand the next morning, my muscle fibers still not completely healed completely. With the intensity of the regeneration, many of my muscle fibers had healed wrongly, forcing me to have to stretch out before I could walk straight.

I struggled to get outside, using a branch as a cane.

The morning light bleached the forest, revealing the complex series of branches that formed bridges as they weaved in and out of the trunks of the trees. The city was massive, possibly dwarfing even Beacon in sheer volume. I watched as men took the forms of birds and flew from branch to branch, many turning to beasts and grabbing onto the ivy. I was in the middle of a city, a settlement, a place of people.

A monster growled as it crawled up the ivy, stepping over me with a slight grunt. He took to the branch above me, entering the other tunnels and vanishing without a trace. I hobbled over to the next tree, peering inside. Various tunnels and structures met my gaze, resembling a marketplace. I noticed the shops, which were marked by the nest of branches.

Another monster leapt down from the ceiling, landing on the wood before me.

"Gah!" I screamed, falling on my weak leg and crashing into the ground. The monster heaved in what was probably a laugh as it melted away into the shape of a man, a familiar face growing out of the mass. Spine smiled at my weakness, holding out a hand to help me up. With a sigh, I grabbed it, allowing him to hoist me up to my feet. The man took his big hands and wrapped them around my make-shift cane, handing it to me.

"Here you are. I'm surprised to see you walking."

"I'm more resilient than I like, sometimes." I said, causing a hearty laugh to escape his throat.

"Of course." He said, patting me on the back. I choked as he hit a recovering bruise, steam escaping my shirt.

"What is this place?"

"This? This is just the marketplace. Furs, foods, water, pottery, some scrap metal, and even some tech is sold here."

"Why did you chose silver as a coinage?" I asked, causing him to raise a brow at my odd question. Spine gave a shrug, turning to the great inner workings of the tree.

"Because we don't use much of it. Better than the paper you lot use."

"I guess I understand. Do you know the progress on the war?"

"What, of the Hunters? Cub, I told you, they aren't your kin anymore. You must learn that. Even so, its only been a day. The same firefight from yesterday is still going on, and bodies are piling high. Our message and scouting ravens aren't doing very well either, commonly getting shot do in the confusion."

"Do you really plan on attacking them?"

"I'm afraid so, little cub. The last time we let them live after a civil war, they turned their newly united eyes on us, slaughtering an enter colony. I don't think there is any way to let them live anymore."

"If we reveal the truth about the Grimm, I'm sure we could reach a peaceful solution."

"I will hear none of it. Don't make my choice to save you be wrong, little cub. I won't hesitate to end you." He said, baring sharpened teeth. I nodded.

"Of course. What should we do now, then?" I said.

I would need to talk to Raven, but for now, I needed to get on his good side.

"Let's shop. I got a good amount of coinage from the nobles for my fierceness in battle, so let's go spend it. I told you I'd make you my drinking buddy, didn't I?" He said, giving a large smile and raising a hand to scratch at his beart. I sighed, leaning against my branch.

"I don't drink."

"You do now." He said with a chuckle, wrapping his arm around me. He gave me a good squeeze with his side hug, soon setting me down after I choked. We hobbled around, looking at various goods. Grimm leather coats were one of the most common things, more than peaking my curiosity.

"Why Grimm leather? Isn't that like cannibalism or something?" I asked, knowing that wasn't the right word.

"We aren't eating our kin, so no. We just recycle our dead, taking their bones and grinding it into bone meal for the trees. We take the meat and feed it to our bison, to make them thick and strong. Their skins are turned into our clothes, put to use again. No dead goes to waste in Grimm society. Speaking of which, try this on." He said, thrusting a vest into my arms. Just after learning that these were indeed dead Grimm, he gave me their corpses. Even so, I sighed and took off my specially prepared armor, slipping it on. He handed me more clothing, giving me a full make over.

"There you go. Looking like a fine Grimman, you are."

"Grimman?"

"Do you prefer Grimmistress? If that's the type of guy you are, we don't judge." He said. I furrowed my brow angrily.

"Of course not. I was just asking for the meaning."

"Oh, in that case, its just a word. 'Gentleman' might be the best translation for your kind." He said, scratching at his beard.

"What should we do now, then?"

"Well, I probably should make you do some… squire-y things, come." He said, turning away. He didn't seem to know what he was doing, which only caused me to smile. We walked out of the marketplace and out onto the ledge, my eyes scanning the wooden branch. Its wood was a milky tan, intricately carved with bone and spines.

"The craftsmanship is amazing." I said, running my hand along the skull of a section of the wood.

"Craftsmanship? Don't you know what wood that is?" He said, turning to me with a furrowed brow.

"No."

"That's Bonewood."

"Bonewood?" I asked. He sighed.

"You really know nothing about Grimm culture, do you?" He said, walking to the wall of wood. He pulled a knife from his thigh, pulling up his sleeve and placing his arm on the rail.

"Tell me you at least know of the Black Blessing?"

"Is that the Lich Virus?"

"Aye, that's what the Witchdoctor calls it. Here, watch." He said, running the blade along his arm. Crimson flowed from his wound and onto the wood, flooding out. I stiffened, rushing over to help. His raised hand stopped, falling to point to his wound. It hissed as it regenerated, healing closed. I watched as the blood boiled black, steam hissing off the liquid.

The liquid has detected it has left the bone, and so thusly….

The liquid turned a milky tan, blending it completely with the wood.

It turns to bone.

"This entire tree is made from Grimm Blood?"

"Aye, they all are. We took the Life Trees, the large trees here originally, and painted them with our blood. That's why the leaves are still here." He said, pointing to the crimson red canopy. "The tree has been hollowed and covered with bone, but it still lives."

"Bone rots, though." I said, causing him to nod.

"Aye, we take a preservative and spray it on the wood. Keeps it from getting brittle and weak."

"Why?"

"Why do you Hunters paint your houses? Because its part of the culture and looks pretty."

"We don't have to cut ourselves to do so."

"Cutting is a ritual, here. In a world where we can heal, there is no other reason to be afraid."

"Pain?"

"Such weakness is never of concern." He said, walking forward. He threw the knife behind him, causing me to fumble and catch it. "Add your blood to the tree. I want you to see the Witchdoctor again to check your healing. I also expect you to learn about our tech and culture, considering you will be living here."

"But-" I said, but it was too late. He leapt from the balcony, morphing into a beat midair and grabbing onto a branch, swinging away almost like a monkey. I sighed, pulling up my arm and running the blade along it, watching the blood spill down my skin and pool on the trunk of the tree, rotting into a bubbling black. I placed the knife in my pocket as I pulled down my sleeve, the blood turning to bone. I walked back the way I came from, Nevermores flying over my head. I looked down to the floor, watching Death Stalkers crawl down trunks and go down into underground tunnels. I suppose they even used the roots of the tree for housing.

I went back into the building, taking a seat on the Grimm leather couch.

"Witchdoctor? Scar?" I shouted.

"Oh?" I heard from the other room. "Oh, its 'ya. Mirror, right?" He said, causing me to nod. "What can I do 'ya for?"

"I was told to ask you about the science and culture."

"Ah, sure thing, sure thing. Come, come." He said, motioning me over. I watched his golden eyes turn away, my stomach turning with it.

"Do I know you from somewhere, Scar?"

"Eh, me? No, Ah doubt it. You may know 'mah sister, though." He said, causing it to click.

"Cinder."

"Aye, lad."

"She didn't come off to me as infected, though."

"Oh, she is."

"What do you mean?" I said, walking down the stairs in pursuit of the doctor in front of me.

"I think everyone in Remnant is infected, prolly."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused." He said with a chuckle. "No, the Hunters aren't. Maybe Ah should restart, I think you got the wrong idea. Everyone in Remnant has the virus in their blood, but not all got it activated. A lot of 'te virus is dormant, especially fer 'ya Hunters."

"Really?"

"Oh ya. Think about it. 'Ya're Raven's Child, no? Didn't she have some kids that didn't seem infected?"

"Yeah, Ruby and Yang."

"Oh, Ah remember Yang. Ah never met 'er, but Raven told me she was a half-blood."

"Half-blood?"

"Oh, 'ya don't know. Ah forgot. This'll be a good example fer the dormant thing I mentioned. When a Lich cell is active, it attacks another cell in an attempt to take it over. It wins when it hits a stem cell, as it can modify its structure enough to reproduce more infected stem cells. Even so, if it takes too long, 'te body can make anti-bodies. If enough are made, the Lich Virus and the Anti-Bodies will be in a equilibrium of sorts, Ah suppose."

"And Yang is in this state of half-active, half-dormant?"

"Oh 'ya. Didn't 'ya notice anything weird about her?"

Well, yes I did. Her red eyes when she got angry mirrored Raven's.

"I suppose." I said. "Is she stable? Can she before fully infected like Mercury and I?"

"Naw, well, yeah actually. She's stable as of now. No way are the Lich Cells gonna overpower her immune system, and so way her immune system gonna overpower the infection. With a blood transfusion, she could be purified to a good 'ol 1% infected, versus the 50% she has right now. On 'te other hand, if she got more lich venom, she could get infected."

"1% pure?"

"Oh 'ya. Lich viruses will have already infected some of her cells by now. Prolly even some neurons, I bet."

"What effect does it have on the brain?"

"Ah, its hard 'ta say. It affects everyone differently. They usually become more moody then they did, but they don't grow more violent like some ol' wives tales say. She maybe would grow more serious or something."

"Such a scientific definition."

"Oh, lay off. Ah got a degree, do 'ya?"

"No." I said, causing him to look back and smile.

"Anyways, we're here." He said, stopping in front of a big white door. "Oh, befer that, I git somethin' for 'ya. Raven wanted to give this to 'ya." He said, handing me a phone. I folded it open, taking a look at the holograms on the glass. Ozpin and Glynda's were programmed in, their faces greeting me in the glowing screen of glass.

"I can call home?" I said, clicking on the button. He grabbed my hand peacefully, folding it closed.

"Not now, she said. Big fight, he's stressed. Try it tomorrow."

"That's exactly the reason I need to call him!"

"Now, Mirror. I'm your superior."

"And?! I'm not a tool." I said, breaking away. He furrowed his brow in anger, grabbing my hand. I hissed in pain as his bones stabbed into mine, forcing me to look at him.

"Ah'm tryin' to help you out here, 'kay? You'll want to see what's behind this door befer 'ya call him."

"Okay, okay." I said, wincing as he pulled out his claws. He pushed open the door, revealing a massive metal structure. I looked as mechs, machines, and other metal products screeched around, the factory whirring to life.

"A factory?"

"'Ya wanted 'ta know how advanced we are?" He said, walking up to a Prometheus. He clicked into the console, the machine clicking to life. It made a buzzing sound, several odd containers entering its large metal cage.

_VVvvvrrrrrVrrrrvVVVRrrrRRRRvVV._

Its whirring and buzzing was familiar, despite never hearing it again. What was that sound…

The machine clicked as Scar entered in the blueprints for the machine he wanted built. The machine steamed to signify its competition, its large cage opening with a hiss.

And there, in its skeleton, was a Heaven's Bomb.

"You are shitting me." I said, grabbing his jacket and slamming him against a wall. "You built godamn nukes?! Are you insane!? That's what killed the Dead World and blew up the moon!"

"Mirror." He said, but I slammed him back against the wall. My eyes glowed red, teeth sharpening.

_VrrrVRRrRrvRRR_

The sound of a machine scanning for radiation.

"Are you lot mad?!" I said, but he hit away my hands.

"That's what Ah was tryin' 'ta tell 'ya! Ah'm on your side, fer fuck's sake! Stop tryin' ta kill me long enough fer me 'ta breath!" He said, grabbing his throat. "I mean, fuck, Mirror. 'Ya got a grip on 'ya!"

"This isn't the time for joking around! How many do you have?"

"…We have them in the hundreds, and their all aimed at Cardinal."


	15. Chapter 15

I stretched back in my Grimm Leather chair, looking to the room around me. My clockwork ceiling clicked quietly, my hand falling to my cup of coffee. Glynda set her worried gaze on me, shifting awkwardly.

"Professor Ozpin, you really need to get some sleep. It's been hours since the attack."

"Glyn, you know I can't do that." I said, rising and turning towards the window. "Rae of Team GRLM is dead, along with Weiss of team RWBY. Blake and Mirror are both missing, as far as I can tell, and we have no means of taking them back."

"Ozpin…" She said, with a worried gaze.

"What happened…" I said, my lip quivering slightly as I took a sip of my coffee. The bitter taste plagued my mouth, forcing me awake. "One of my student's, assassinated…"

"We couldn't have known. Mirror did the best he could."

"And what about me, Glyn? Why did I entrust an entire project of this scale to only a boy? No matter how smart or strong he is, I should have backed him up."

"You were busy keeping Cardinal safe." She said sternly.

"And look where that got us. The SDC freaking out, storming the streets and slaughtering every Faunus they see. For god's sake, this is just like the crystal night Mirror would tell me about. We're officially at war, forced to side with the genocidal maniac named Mr. Schnee." I said, biting my lip. "If Ironwood Productions decides to use this and perform a coup de ta? No way in hell we're surviving this. Oh, I can't forget the Grimm! If what Raven says is true they apparently are smart and will probably use this weakness." I said, slamming down my cane in anger. My hand rose to the bridge of my nose, pinching it as I took a deep breath to calm myself down. My phone buzzed in my pocket, my right hand picking it up. I slid it open, holding it to my ear with a angered and furrowed brow.

"What is it?" I said sternly.

"Dad, it's me." A familiar voice said. My eyes opened in shock, causing me to pull the phone away and look at the caller ID. Raven's number greeted my gaze, causing me to place it against my ear.

"Mirror?! Are you alright?" I said into the phone, causing Glyn to stiffen in shock.

"I'm fine."

"Where are you?"

"The City of Blood."

"The- what?"

"A Grimm city. Listen, we have no time to talk."

"Mirror, what are you talking about?"

"I suppose Raven took me away to her homeland when I was nearly killed after the attack. That isn't important. What is important is that the Grimm have the technology to produce Heaven's Bombs, and they have a lot of them."

"They have Heaven's Bombs!?" I shouted, Glyn stood up and gave a stern look, running out the room to likely contact the Union. I set down my coffee, following behind her.

"Yes. Honestly, that may not even be the worst of our problems."

"I hope you are joking." I said, grabbing a fist full of my hair.

"I know you need to do everything you can right now, and I understand that. Still, as soon as possible, I need you to call me back with the girl named Penny."

"What do you need with Penny?"

"Shit, I got to g-" He said, hanging up. I bit my lip, folding up my phone and placing it in my pocket. I walked outside, entering an airship with Glyn.

"Where are you going, sir?" The pilot asked, starting the engines.

"The Union, to see the King. Get us there yesterday." I said, causing the airship to float off the ground.

I bit my lip.

We were on a slippery slope.

…

I thrust the double doors open, walking into the grand hall. Pillar after pillar passed by me as I walked up to the throne, placing my falling over my heart.

"I beg your pardon, My Lord." I said, disliking using the word 'lord'. I looked at the man as he played with his trimmed crimson red beard, his green eyes settling on me. His large crown blocked his long hair, his body covered in ornate cloth.

"What is it, Headmaster Ozpin?"

"I'm afraid I bring you terrible news."

"I'm not interested taking part in your war, unless you can convince me otherwise." He said, chuckling slightly. "Ironwood has told me to stay clear of the fire and let it burn. Blowing on it may only add to the flame."

"This isn't about that, My Lord." I said, straightening my back. "I have new information that the Grimm may contain Level-0 weaponry." I said, causing him to burst into laughter.

"Level-0? Dead World Level? Do you honestly expect me to believe that?"

"Sir, I know that you are aware of the Grimm's technological and cultural state."

"Is that so? I'm afraid my memory functions on a different language than you speak." He said, rubbing two fingers together. I furrowed my brow, trying not to let my anger show.

"Sir, with this civil war, I have information to believe that they may attack us."

"Oh, and who would that information be? That whore of yours?" He said, causing me to wince. Nobody should address Raven like that.

"It is my son, actually. He was captured by the Grimm and managed to contact us."

"Never mind who he is. I have a country to run. War is erupting, and I need a way to get everyone to stop. No money can be raised on a war against yourself." He said with a sigh.

"But, My Lord, I don't think you understand."

"The Grimm haven't attacked us in many generations. Our cease fire dared not be broken in times if internal conflict, so my father says. It's a part of honor, he would say. Never attack an enemy when they are down."

"And you wouldn't attack the Grimm if they were weak?"

"I certainly would if there was money to make." He said, giving a chuckle. There was no doubt he was fully aware of the vile personality he held. But, as he played with the large diamond ring on his hand and felt up the shaft of the solid gold cane, it was made obvious that he couldn't care less.

"Then what makes you think that they wouldn't do the same?" I said, looking above my spectacles in order to meet his gaze. He seemed to bite his tongue, a hand reaching up to rub his chin.

"You think the Grimm care for profit?"

"I have no doubt." I said, brushing aside my grey hair. He stayed silent for several minutes, tossing his head back and forth as if childishly deciding if should destroy the nation or not. As much as I despised him, I couldn't bring myself to actively spite him. He was a good king, keeping the economy stable and the country strong. He only fell weak in his complete lack of taking sides. As for why he cared for money, he put it best, 'There is nothing in my life that matters more." His wife died bearing his first born son, so the chance of him producing an heir are all but cut. He could find a new, younger mistress, but that would be against the… taboo. It's a strong word, but the queen was a respected figure, not just some young girl made for breeding.

"I'll look into it. Even so, I can't promise that I can engage them. If they have as many Type-0 weapons as you suggest, there is nothing we can do. Attacking them could push them over the edge."

"They already are attacking, in only just over a month."

"Then they have time to change their minds. Ozpin, I can't do anything else. Even if you paid me. I like money, but not enough to die for. Moneys good for buying food and women, but that doesn't mean anything to a corpse."

"My lord…" I said, "Are you sure there is nothing?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm leaving this up to fate. There is a war I need to settle and profit from, and that is my primary concern."

"Very….well." I said, turning and walking off.

…

I leaned back in my chair, my eyes scanning the clockwork ceiling as it ticked away slowly, ever changing and ever casting its gear shadows on the ground. A sigh escaped my lips as I looked at my documents, the roar of gunfire just barely detectable. In the center of our city, war was ravaging the lands and destroying buildings, causing building after building to collapse. My students were fighting a war that some of them didn't agree with, being forced to kill members of their own family in the White Fang. Even worse, some of them were dying in those wars, already numbering at 67. All of team CFVY and SSSN were wiped out, notably.

My phone scroll vibrated in my pocket, causing my hand to reach in and grab the phone. Mirror's number greeted me, causing me to smile weakly. Mirror was alive, if nothing else. It seems that was becoming a lot to ask. Nevertheless, I pulled open the phone and held it to my ear, speaking into it.

"Mirror, hello?"

"Dad, did you get Penny?" He asked immediately. I frowned, biting my lip slightly. Slight disappointment plagued my mind, as if I expected him to give a different reply. A "Are you okay, Dad?" Or a "How are you doing?" But I'd never admit it, of course.

"I'll call her in now." I said, clicking on the com link. It buzzed, Glynda's voice crackling over the speaker.

"Yes, Professor Ozpin?

"Can you call in Penny?"

"Of course." She said, her voice cutting off. I smiled weakly, the image of the blonde beauty entering my mind. We had made up at that dinner, luckily, but that didn't mean the damage wasn't dealt. Even before Raven came, she hadn't yet fully admitted to herself that she wanted a relationship. As sturdy as she acted, she was as delicate as a flower underneath. I thought back to my childhood, back when I was on my team.

The days of my youth were embarrassing to think about. I was, by all definitions, an overly edgy teenager. Or so I acted. I was commonly spiteful and was quick to insult, and would try to act as emotionless as possible. That started to change when I Glyn though. She slowly, very slowly, broke through my thick armor and caused me to drop the façade. Its… ironic, really, considering she now acts very similar to the way I did back then. We dated for a year, then broke up. It was extremely awkward after that, especially for the other members of my team. And, being the edgy kid I was, I fell back into my act. Towards our last year, however, Raven took interest in me. Or maybe she already had, all those years, but that was when I noticed. I was aware asking her to the dance could very well tear our team apart at the teams, considering I already had a bad relation with Glyn.

Luckily, and yet unluckily, she said yes. We got together after that, Glyn hardly reacting. At least on the surface. Raven was broken emotionally too. She had a child being cared for by her older brother Qrow, whose identity she kept secret. Ever since that day when that teacher forced him upon her, she never looked at men quite the same way. She saw them as monsters, which was ironic. I suppose I, in my our of character worrywort attitude, convinced her that thinking men were evil was as stupid as thinking the Faunus or the Grimm were.

But, when graduation came, she left without a word. Storming into the palace, she stole two Forbidden Books and ran off. I felt betrayed, honestly. We planned on joining the same full-ranked Hunter squad, which isn't some small commitment. Its almost like marriage, in some sense. I only saw her a few times after that, and she never was the same. She kept away from me, as if trying to stay out of the past. Its true that I have grown close to Glyn these past few years, but I can't say I didn't still love Raven. I think you always love your first love

"Saaaaal-u-tations!" Said the girl, tearing me from my thoughts. I sighed, placing my hands together and looking at the red haired girl. She smiled enthusiastically, giving me a happy wave.

"Mirror." I spoke into the scroll. "She's here."

"I need you to convince her to let you see her circuitry."

"Her what? Mirror, I know little about those things."

"Relax, I'll guide you if you get there. You still have to get there, though. The circuits are the mechanical pieces inside of her." He said, sighing. I bit my lip, setting down my scroll and looking at the girl.

"How are you today, Penny?" I asked. "Please, take a seat." She smiled, walking over and sitting back in the leather chair.

"A lovely place you got here, Ozpin."

"I see you know my name."

"Of course I do! You're the Headmaster. Ruby talks about you a lot."

"Does she now?" I said, leaning in. Penny nodded, making a stern face.

"She says-" She paused. "Oh, friends aren't supposed to tell each others secrets." She said, placing her hand over her mouth. "I do notice you drink too much coffee. You drink roughly 3.4x the average person, based on my observations. That could possibly increase to a 6.7x if you drink more on your off time."

"I'll take that into consideration. Now tell me, Penny. Why did you leave Ironwood?"

"Well, I left because Ruby is my friend! You always do things for your friends!"

"Is that so?" I said raising a brow. "Penny, can I ask you something?"

"Of course!"

"Can…" I bit my tongue, clenching my eyes shut. I would regret this. "Can I be your friend?" The moment those words left my lips, a smile larger than the sun stretched across her face, the girl leaping from her chair and grabbing my hands.

"Oh, boy! You want to be my friend? My only friend is Ruby, and she is so nice! Are we going to have sleepovers like Ruby does? Makeovers? Oh, Ozpin, you could so use a make over."

"W-Well, Penny, here's the thing. I need a favor, if you can understand."

"Oh?"

"My son, Mirror Black, do you know him?" I asked, looking down at her still clenched hands. Sighing internally, I returned my gaze to her nodding head. "He asked me to do a favor, since he's my friend. And since you're my friend, I was wondering if you could help me out."

"Anything for a friend."

"If its okay with you, I'd like to look at your circuitry." I said, wincing. Expecting her to turn grave, I looked away. Even so, nothing ever came.

"Are you… sure? You won't hate me?"

"Why would I hate you?"

"Because I'm a robot. I'm not a person."

"That doesn't matter. You are just as much a person as a Faunus is or a Hunter is." I said, speaking honestly. She smiled.

"Okay, I'm in."

…

"Okay, Mirror." I said, looking at Penny as she laid against the slab of metal. I looked into the bag of various tools, taking out a screwdriver and giving my scroll to Penny. She held it for me, clicking it on to speaker mode. "What are we looking for?"

"I don't want to say just yet, as it may interfere with the operation if you knew. To start off with, turn her over onto her back and open up her spine plate. According to the blueprints I got in Scar's office, there should be one just above the hip."

"Blueprints? Why are there blueprints for Penny at the Grimm Settlement?" I asked, sticking in the screwdriver. I twirled it around, placing the screws and nuts in a pile as I carefully popped open the plate on her back, revealing a hollow interior, with exception to thousands of green plate-like materials.

"Long story short, synthetics like Penny are more common then we thought. Neo is probably a synthetic, and I have reason to believe roughly 1% of our population is synthetic and they just don't know it yet."

"How is that possible? Robots don't age, right? Wouldn't you notice?" I said, taking a look into the green slabs. Various wires and such crawled around her interior like snakes, silently transmitting the data that was Penny's blood.

"Probably false memories. Now tell me, what do you see?" I asked.

"Green slabs."

"Definitely Dead World tech, circuits to be precise. Anything else note worthy?"

"Yes. They are labeled. Let me see here… Motherboard, RAM, CPU, Hard drive, Fan… What are these, Mirror?"

"They're her organs. What your looking at is actually probably best described as a brain. RAM stores running programs, to my knowledge, and would likely act as a universal organ for her heart and body, as well as short term memory."

"Its got a little screen. A lot of text is here." I said, squinting to read the lines. " , , … Are these those programs?"

"Yes."

"What's this hard drive thing?"

"It acts as data storage. It would hold her long term memory, and the data for the programs."

"What's the purpose of this?" I asked, placing the plate back on her spine and placing all the screws together. He cleared his throat, staying silent for quiet a while as I fixed Penny closed and leaned against the table.

"I need you to open her front unit. That's her chest. From what it looks like, she's certainly a Generation 11 model. The earlier models would not have had the screen for all the active programs. That's… unfortunate."

"Why?"

"No reason. Please open her chest."

"Penny, are you comfortable with this?"

"We are A-okay!" She said, giving an enthusiastic thumbs up. I took up my tools again, removing nuts and bolts and placing them all in a neat pile by her side.

"Tell me when you have all the nuts and bolts off."

"Done." I said, taking the last bolt out. I hear him take a deep breath over the phone, my brow furrowing in concern. Mirror was unsettled, and that wasn't an easy task to do. I hope that it was just his circumstance, but I know better.

"Is there another scroll in the room? We need it before we look inside her." He said. I scanned my desk, finally finding one of the older models that we would hand out to students. Folding it open, I looked at all the apps and programs that ran on it.

"I found one, but it's an older model."

"Perfect. The older, the better. Okay, follow my instructions. Click home twice, up volume once, down volume twice, and home again." He said slowly, giving me enough time to enter the code. A screen, primarily black with 8-bit letters and green text met my gaze.

_Enter Console Command._

"It says, Enter Console Command." I said, reading it off to him. Mirror gave a 'mmm' of acknowledgement, growing silent again while Penny hummed a small tune from the table. He came back, the breathing returning,

"Enter this code. Forward slash, Forward slash, dot, S-T-R-T-R-A-D-P-R-G-M, dot, exe."

I entered the code, clicking 'execute'. It gave me an odd screen, the top of the scroll popping out. It was the recorder, used for tracking various things like temperature, sound, and even the intensity of light.

"Now disable everything but " He said. I looked down, unchecking each of the boxes for temperature control, light detection, and the microphone. "Okay, Dad. Now, set it down away from her and remove the chest piece. Beneath it was not what I was expecting. A core, which looked like a giant metal soccer ball, greeted me. It floated in what seemed to be water, various pipes, pistons, and valves running throughout her chest.

"I see-"

"Don't tell me what you see. I don't want to know. Just… Just take the phone's gauge and stick it in the water." He said. I nodded, not that he could see, taking the scroll into my hands and gently setting the gauge into the water. It clicked on, various new graphs appearing.

_VVrrrrrrrVRRrvvvrrrrVVVrRRRr_

"DAMNIT!" Mirror shouted. "GOD DAMNIT!" I hear things breaking in the background, Mirror panting heavily.

"Mirror, what's wrong?" I said, taking the scroll out of the water and placing it by my side.

"You got to be kidding me! Scar, what the hell?!"

"Mirror!" I said sternly. "What is happening? What is this?"

"That," He said, cursing under his breath "Is a fission reactor. The core of a Heaven's Bomb. Penny is a nuke."


	16. Chapter 16

I bit my tongue, looking at the bone wood walls on my room. Underneath me was the straw and leather bed of the Grimm, my hands rubbing against my face. It had been a week since we found out that Penny had a reactor in her chest, but I should have known. What the hell else could power a synthetic? Especially one as powerful as Ruby suggested? No, it was certain. My stupidity could have very well killed someone again, and it probably will. Scar's database had told me that, during the Second Night of Grimm, they planted people there. Synthetics, programmed with basic memories. They had since then built a life, not knowing that they were indeed bombs that would destroy all of Cardinal. There weren't many formal reports in his logs, but they were there. A secret project only the scientists and leaders of the village could know about, the plan to exterminate all Hunters.

1% of the population were bombs. Each were bombs that could easily destroy each of the Great Seven Cities, let along all of Cardinal.

"Little cub, " Said Spine, who walked into my room. "Rise. We have things to do." He said. I sighed, standing up and following shortly behind him. Spine was a good man. He treated me like his own son, giving me all the food and care I could ever need to feel at home. Even so, he had yet to tell me of the bombs. The operation. The Third Night.

"What are we doing today, Spine?"

"I think it is about high time we trained you, little cub." He said, giving me a warm smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are eighteen years old. In Grimm Society, that is the age of manhood, and when a child is allowed to drink. I hear its similar in Hunter Society. The thing is, we throw big parties and celebrations for all the cubs who live that long." He said solemnly. "As the Hunters do tend to shave off their numbers."

"Would the Nested Throne be okay with me having a party?"

"You are officially a Grimm now. It's been that way ever since you defeated me. The Nested Throne wouldn't dare take away your Awakening."

"Awakening?"

"The title of the celebration. But, before we can have an Awakening, you must first Awaken." He said, grabbing a vine and climbing down its boney structure. With a sigh, I grabbed onto it as well, using the spines as footholds. "To Awaken is to fully kindle the Blood of the Beast, something you are incapable of as of this moment."

"Why can't I?"

"It's the same reason that making lines on a paper isn't drawing. You must learn the technique of perception and anatomy in order to become truly great, You must be taught the correct way." He said. We climbed down the massive trunk, settling on the grassy floor below. Raven waved, walking over in her familiar outfit.

"Hello, Knight, Cub. How are each of you?" She said, taking off her mask. Her red eyes greeted mine with a certain happiness that I hadn't seen in a long time. Just the very sight of it made me smile, Spine leaning in.

"Today we make this Cub a part of the pack. Cub, go out into the middle of the field." He said. I nodded, walking out into the middle, using the trees as a reference. I turned around, gently setting my eyes on my mother and owner, who crossed his arms with a smirk. "You're first flaw is your transformation. As you probably know, being smart and all," He said mockingly, "The skin has many layers. There's sections and sections, eventually transferring into muscle. When you summon your claws, you turn the muscles of your fingers into bone. It then has to tear its way out of your skin in order to surface. Instead, try to think of your skin turning to bone. Don't think of the movement of muscles, but rather the wind gently brushing your knuckles." He said. I nodded, closing my eyes. The void enveloped my world as I fell into my mind, biting my lip slightly. I was defenseless, if he decided to attack. Even so, I would need a weapon.

I felt the wind brush gently against my skin, just like he said. With intense concentration, I ordered my skin to tighten just as you did a muscle. For several seconds, nothing happened. But, when I listened harder, I noticed the pumping veins that ran through my hand, the blood vessels and all the muscle tissue. I carefully weeded them out in my mind, focusing only and solely on my skin. It hardened against my muscle, my skin clicking and popping.

I smiled as I opened my eyes, looking down at my perfect claws.

"Good job!" My Mother called out, cuffing her gloved hands into a microphone. Spine smiled with pride, placing his hands on his hips.

'Now try the Blood of the Beast! I want you to think, and think deep. Think so deep that even the feeling of the smallest blood cell vanishes away, and you become your mind and mind alone. I want you then to think, think even smaller than those cells, think into their brain where the DNA is stored. Think, think, think even harder until you see what that code means, and how your body wants to become beast. It wants to fly." He said. I nodded, closing my eyes again.

I stood there patiently, ignoring and blocking out the wind and the feeling of my buzzing nerves. Even so, it was near impossible to ignore my forced breathing, or the feeling of the tongue in my mouth. My heart beat a hundred times a minute, pounding me to stay awake.

I needed something to focus on.

Weiss.

I thought about her dead form, and what the White Fang did to her. They had killed her, and it made my blood boil! It burned! No… No, calm. The times of fun we had, and how are lips pressed together. I remembered how, despite the thousand beats of my heart, the blood in my face, and her lips against mine, I felt like I was flying, as free as a bird. I felt my body react, but I didn't let it distract me. The bubbling, warm tissue that surrounded me and swallowed me only reminded me of how warm Weiss felt pushed against me in that rainy day, and how much wrapping my arms around her meant. My arms had felt like wings, in that moment, just as they did now.

I opened my eyes, glancing down at my mother. She gave me a look of pure joy, giving me a toothy smile. I felt my form of the Nevermore, and the impressed gaze of Spine.

I was a monster.

…

"AAAAYYYY!" They cheered, clanking together there wooden cups. I smiled as I looked down the long wooden table, what nearly looked like a hundred men and woman cheering and eating. Men and women sung various folk songs, the occasional Grimm leaping from the ceiling shortly before falling to the ground in a drunken stupor. Mercury smiled next to me, giving me a raised eyebrow.

"So, I hear you finally can handle the Blood." He said, taking a swig of his pint.

"That I can." I said. "It was surprisingly easy."

"Well, I have to say, I really thought you'd stay loyal to the Hunters. In the week you've been here, you've done a lot. I hear you even calibrated a Heaven's Bomb. I thought you'd freak out and leave after that." He said.

'Calibrated'. As in fix, but plant a severe virus disguised as a new guiding code.

"Well, I'm proud of you, little bro." He said, slamming down his pint. "In fact…" He stood up, clapping his hands together and shouting for the others to quiet down. The various songs and dances paused after a short period, each turning their eyes onto the man. He cleared his throat, taking his pint back into his hand.

"Today we honor the Awakening of my little kin, Mirror Black. I'll be honest, I thought he'd be burned at the stake by now. Even so, he turned himself around and joined Grimm Society multiple times over. Tell, Mirror, do you forsake your Hunter heritage? Do you realize the truth that the Hunters are not your blood?" He said.

"That I do." I said, raising a pint. He smiled, not realizing my lie In my time here, I had learned how to act pretty well, so it seemed.

"And with what faction do you choose?"

"Phantomclaw! Let us aim to kill, but fight to infect!" I cheered, getting another 'AAYY' from the crowd. I couldn't have chosen Blackwood, or else they'd still think I was loyal to the Hunters. Which I was, but they couldn't know that.

"An understandable choice! Fight to kill, but fight with honor and the lore of the Dead World. Today my kin has officially become a Grimm! Let's drink to his newfound love for the wild!"

"AAAAAY!" They cheered, the music roaring back up and the dancers returning to their dance. He chuckled, falling back down and pointing to my cup.

"Take a sip." He said. With a sigh, I placed the wood cup my mouth and took a sip or two, but not much. Raven poked me from my side, giving me a smile.

"So you are deciding to live here, then?"

"Yes. Are you okay with that?" I asked, suspicion plaguing my inner mind.

"You fight for who you love, dear. I love many still in Cardinal, so I'll fight for them. If you've found love here, then that's all there is to it. I just want my children to be happy." She said with a smile, taking my hand in hers. "You know, now that you've Awoke, you aren't Spine's squire anymore."

"Really?" I asked. I felt a firm hand fall onto my shoulder, causing me to jump in shock. Looking up, I found the smiling face of my once-owner, Spine.

"Aye, lad. Today you are free, although there is something else to this." He said, looking to the crowd. "Oi, Oi, OI! I know you just quieted down, but listen up!" He said, causing the music to once again die down. He cleared his throat, his hand brushing my hair. "Today, Mirror Black has grown out of his position as a squire and become a man. However, he does not have a father! What a shame is this! And so, on today, underneath the full moon, I declare this man my Son and Apprentice! He, from this point forward, is to be treated as the son of a noble knight! All his troubles are mine! Let Grimm Blood Reign!"

"AAAYYY!: They cheered, thrusting their arms into the air. He smiled, patting me again on my head.

"Why did you make me your son?" I asked, surprised. He gave a hearty chuckle, giving Raven a wink and looking down at me.

"You're a good man, Mirror. You may be hung on your past family, but that's understandable. You care for me, right?"

"I do." I answered honestly, looking at Mercury. I did care for all of them. Raven, Vigil, Spine, Scar, all had a place in my heart. I may try to deny it to myself, but it was there.

"Then that's it, then. You'll make a fine warrior, one day. You are my son, from here on out." He said. I wondered how much he cared about me. During our time together, he cracked jokes, sparred with me, taught me many things, and cared for me. I wonder how much of that was for me, and how much of that was for Raven. He obviously had something for her. Even so, I still think that I did mean something to him, which made me happy.

"Mirror, follow me." Mercury said, raising from his chair. I nodded, rising from my own and following him. He placed his arm over me, brushing back his grey hair and giving me a smile. "You know, I have this girl that I think you'd love. Her names Anacki, and she is gorgeous." He said with a chuckle. "Probably way out of your league, but I hear she has a thing for nice guys." He said.

"Is that so?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah. Not only that, but I hear you're pretty well respected in the lab. You've been helping out a lot."

Learning as much as I can, giving the occasional sacrifice like helping them to learn more.

"Well, I don't know about that…" I said in a false humble façade. He smiled, taking his hand off of mine and stumbling a little from the beer he likely had downed. I smiled, stiffening and placing my hands behind my back.

Mercury currently operates with Phantomclaw, and is even allied with it, if you could call it that. Blackwood stands on the delicate fabric of supporting the Hunters.

Seeing my brother again had been the greatest blessing I had received in a long time. After living with him for a week, he was actually close to the same cool guy that I remember from my childhood. He'd go outside and train all day helping out the elders and playing with the children.

_Close to the same cool guy._

I bit my lip, giving a false smile as he rambled on about how he once took on this X-class Grimm in fisticuffs. He supposedly took down the guy purely by tickling him, giving the buff store owner that was that X-Class the nickname 'The Tickle Monster'.

_If a noble or someone in a position of power attacks another nation, it could mean war. In this case, attacking a member of Graynest, especially after their care for me, would be the highest betrayal. Not only that, but if they had worked with Phantomclaw, the very faction I since joined, it would strip and idea of them being loyal. And, if, just by chance, that attacker was a Hunter, it would only display how vile the Hunters could be, thus bleaching any stance of power Blackwood had. They'd be seen as siding with the enemy._

"So then I said, 'the hell you talking to?" He said with a chuckle, placing his hand on mine. "You know, I thought you died back after Spine attacked us. Did I tell you this?"

"Yeah, you did." I said with a smile.

_That attack would start a civil war._

"Well, I'll tell you what. Tomorrow, after I get over my massive hangover, we're going hunting, as brothers, 'mmkay? We'll take down the biggest deer you ever did see." He said, chuckling.

_One could even say that war could buy time for Beacon._

"That sounds good, just like old times." I said.

"I bet Raven could even make us some of that stew she used to make." He said, looking up as if thinking back to the taste of the meal.

_I'm sorry, Vigil. To end one and save a thousand…_

I formed a blade of bone from my skin and grabbed Mercury, stabbing the bone through his skull.


	17. Chapter 17

"Ozpin, where are we going?" Penny asked, looking around the large airship. I pulled at my scarf, taking a slow sip of my coffee to make sure it didn't spill in the turbulence of the airship. The bitter taste of the pure black coffee assaulted my lips, reminding me of all the mistakes I had made in my life, even bringing me back to when I chose Ruby to lead team RWBY. Not that I saw that as a mistake, but rather, a stepping stone to a larger mistake that was the fault of no one.

"I ask myself the same question every morning." I said with a sigh, looking at the castle coming ever closer. "Penny, do you ever contemplate your own existence?"

"That's an odd question." Penny buzzed, looking around innocently. "But yes, quiet commonly. Ruby says that's weird, though."

"I don't think its weird." I said, giving a shrug. She smiled, looking back to the castle.

"Are we going to make a new friend?"

"You could say that." I said, the aircraft slowing and lowering itself to the landing pad. Men in golden armor bowed as we stepped off the airship, pulling open the doors to reveal the large hallway. We walked through with haste, Penny's eyes drifting across the high beams of support with a sense of awe. Finally, we reached the final doors, the guards pulling them open and revealing the grand throne room. The sigils of the family crest hung from each banner, each hanging from a large pillar, each supporting a larger ceiling. It was massive, and I could tell it figuratively stole Penny's breath away.

"Penny, I'm going to need you to follow my lead."

"A-okay!" She said, giving a thumbs up and a wink. We bowed before the king, who looked at us with the same superior eyes.

"Good day, Professor Ozpin." He said.

"Thank you, My lord. I wish the same for you." I said, trying to keep scorn from my tone.

"Sal-u-tations!" Penny said loudly and bluntly, giving a large wave. I closed my eyes in regret, turning to her and whispering to hush as politely as possible.

"What beckons you forth?" He asked, placing his hand on his belly. I rose, placing my hands behind my back and taking in a deep breath. Mirror would be strong in a situation like this, so its only rational I could do one better. He would find some crazy solution and hold onto it until it became a reality, and I had to do the same.

"I have come here today not with a request, but a demand." I said as monotone as possible. The king didn't seem offended, but rather curious. His right red eyebrow rose as a slight chuckle escaped his lips.

"And what would that be? Considering your out of character persona today, I might as well hear it out."

Oh, you have me mistaken. I've been waiting for this for far too long.

"I have flown here today to demand that we not only ignore all White Fang attacks, but that we pull back the SDC forces."

"Ozpi-"

"Not only that, but we will unite under a common enemy. As soon as possible, we are to take our White Fang, our SDC, Atlas's men, my students, and your army, and raid the Grimm."

"What?!" He shouted, looking at me. "Do you understand what you are saying?! No way would I preform such a stupid action!"

"I believe I told you this is a demand, not a request." I said, taking something from my pocket. The guards instantly raised their guns, but I only held a scroll in my hand. Pressing the button, I raised my hands over my head and looked at Penny.

"Get ready Penny. Try to stay calm and quiet."

"Alright!" She said, giving a pump of the fist as she raised her hands.

"And what will you do to make me preform this demand?!" He shouted, slamming his cane into the ground. I gave an ever so slight smirk, settling my eyes on Penny.

"My, my, my, my lord. Haven't you been keeping up with the times? We posses Prometheus, the machine that can clone any Dead World Tech. That includes Heaven's Bomb." His face stiffened. "Not only that, but the technology to create an intelligent metal exists. This girl, Penny, is that very creation."

"Sal-u-tations!" She said again with a grin. I chuckled, looking back at him.

"I have hooked up a monitor to my chest, with the help of my science committee. Together, we invented a heart-rate detector, much like the ones in hospitals. When my heart stops beating, it will activate a fuse. That fuse is a timer within Penny here. She will explode, killing us all."

The King's eyes widened, his jaw dropping.

"Ozpin, you lie!"

"Oh, really? Let me show you with a toy my son showed me." I said, pressing a button on my scroll.

_VrrrvRrRrvRrrVvvvrRR_

"Sound familiar?" I said, looking to him. He bit his lip, looking around.

"You've gone mad!"

"Madness?" I said, looking to Penny. She nodded, causing a slight smirk to cross my face.

"This is Vale, it is our kingdom. We will not let a greedy pig such as yourself rule over us. While you may have been a good leader, the time of your reign is over. We will fight the Grimm, and we will end this war."

"I would never!" He shouted. "I don't negotiate with terrorists!"

"Terrorists?" I said with a slight chuckle. "Is that what I am now? That's besides the point, though. You seemed to negotiate with the White Fang just fine. Not only that, but I did some research. Our border-control isn't something that is easily pierced. Cinder and her companions didn't sneak in. No, you let them in. They would go and hypnotize Roman, be it through seduction or through some sort of hostage, to annex White Fang. They created a puppet out of an otherwise justified cause. They were thrilled when Mirror's speech was given. According to recordings that my tech team hacked from your horribly protected database, we found they were drinking in bars. Also, about those databases. Its really hilarious how poorly encryption can be when you have no idea what encryption is. A simple logarithm tore right through it." I said, locking eyes with him.

"What?"

"That's right. You left a door right open for us, and we stepped in. You let in Phantomclaw because they offered you peace and money, and you didn't think twice. They, those crazy cultists, killed my students!" I shouted, slamming my foot into the ground. "They almost killed my son!"

He bit his lip, looking to the guards around him.

"So tell me, you pig-faced devil! Are you going to die in a brilliant explosion of fire and radiation, or are you going to live for another day?!" I shouted. "For today, we link together not by hatred, not by our stupid prejudice, but by the fear of death. I once said knowledge only will get you so far, but it will certainly helps enough to make a nuclear bomb. So tell me, does this knowledge influence your choice?" I said, now fully smiling for the first time in years. The adrenaline that pumped through my veins, the fearful look on his face, the button I held, it was awe inspiring. I watched as he scratched his beard, the internal debate showing on his face. Worry aged his face in minutes as the stress lines almost seemed to grow on his face. Eventually, he thrust down his hands to signal the guards to lower their guns.

"Very well. I accept."

I held up my scroll, looking him dead in the eye. Clicking 'record', I lowered it to him.

"I want a verbal agreement. This is being recorded by Penny herself, the rod on my chest, and this scroll. Even if you kill us right here and now, there is no way the bomb will be stopped."

"I," He said with a sigh. "hereby agree to the demand of Professor Ozpin regarding the unification of all troops. I will send out my men to remove Cinder personally, taking off the influence over White Fang. Similarly, I will remove the likely blinded Mr. Schnee to ensure no bias is given to the company. We will assemble all our troops within the week, launching an attack as soon as possible. My troops are already located at the edge of Cardinal, and the transfer of the rest, along with the various other forces, should take no more than a few days." He said. I smiled, turning away.

"Let's go, Penny."

"Is he our friend now?" She asked.

"Like I said, more or less." I said, walking to the large doors.

"Safe travels." Said the king, so bitter I could almost taste the coffee.


	18. Chapter 18

Mercury choked and sputtered as the blade pierced through his skull, blood spilling from the wound as he choked on his own blood. A scream erupted a woman as she stumbled backwards, pointing to me as I pulled away my bloody blade. I flicked the crimson from the bone, looking into the eyes of my brother. They froze in fear and pain, drifting off into the void. I let go of his head, causing him to drop to the floor in a splatter of blood.

"Vigil!" A scream echoed through the hall as Raven ran forward, tears spilling from her eyes. She fell to her knees, taking his corpse into her hand. "Vigil!" She screamed, running her hand along his face. I watched in horror as my mother mourned over her dead son, placing her forehead against his in a sob. Spine pushed through the now gathered crowd, his eyes widening in shock.

He eyed the corpse as Mercury's blood hardened around him, forming threads of white around his body. Mother screamed again, digging her head into Vigil's shoulders to cover her sobs.

"Mirror…what have you done?" He said, his voice empty of all emotion except for shock. I looked into his eyes, giving a growl and thrusting down my cup.

"You thought I'd side with you monsters?! After you killed the ones I loved?! Let's see how you like it, then!" I shouted, looking into his eyes. I faltered, my voice cracking as I met his horrified gaze.

"Mirror…" He said, almost as if he understood those words weren't fully true.

"You are all monsters! We did nothing to you, and you aim nuclear warheads at us!"

"You were my son…" My mother said, hey eyes unfocused.

"Your son died long ago, Mother. That isn't Vigil." I said, spitting the words like venom. They were words to start a war, but that didn't mean that they didn't have shards of the truth imbedded in them. She raised her gaze, her brow furrowed in pure anger.

"I wasn't talking about Mercury, I was talking about you." She said, tears pouring from here eyes. "No son of mine could kill his own!"

"Mother…" I said, feeling sick in my stomach.

"Shut up! Don't ever call me that! You aren't my son! No son of mine could ever kill his own!" She shouted, rising and pulling her blade from her scabbard. She swung it forward, attempting to cut off my head. I reached behind me, drawing my blade and folding it out into sword mode. I hit her blade away, kicking her feet away from beneath her angry attacks, causing her to fall to the floor. Her assault was blinded by hatred and weak.

"That Graynest boy was killed by a Phantomclaw…" Someone said from the crowd. "I always knew they were monsters."

Spine thrust his head to the crowd, realizing my intention in a look of horror.

"Monster? No, that Hunterboy was never a Grimm, those are the real monsters."

"Ha! Of course you'd blame the Hunters for some dumb political murder."

"Who the hell are you to say that to me?"

"Everyone, please calm down." Spine said, looking back at the corpse of Mercury. He closed his eyes shut, slowly returning his gaze.

"Oh, you think you're better than me, huh? Typical Graynest. You got a guy on the throne and you're all royalty."

"Say that again, I dare you!"

My mother sobbed into her hands, punching at the floor. I felt a part of me break as I watched her defeated form.

"Everyone!" Spine said weakly, attempting to grab their attention. "Everyone, please!"

_I have to be careful I don't unite them against humanity..._

"The Greynest killed someone I loved." I said, twisting the truth. Mercury was the right hand man of the true mistress of Weiss' death, Ember. God knows were she was now. "They are mongrels."

"Mirror, please. Think about what you are saying." Spine said, walking over to me.

"I damn well know what I was saying. And you? You took me as a slave! You, a Greynest! You steal the throne!"

"He's right! Those assholes did take the throne from us! We were the top class! That civil war did nothing but hurt us Phantomclaw supporters!"

"Don't you dare speak against the Alpha!" Someone shouted.

That was when it began.

A fist was thrown, missing its target and hitting another man. Both retaliated, attacking each other. Their allies assisted, leaping into the battle, causing a domino effect of fighting.

"Vigil..." Raven sobbed.

"Mother..." I said, glancing back to her for the last time. "I am only helping my kin. My true kin, those of Beacon."

"Traitor!"

"Honor has no place on the battlefield, a wise man once told me that." I said, glancing at Spine. "Seek refuge. War will break out soon, no doubt."

"Why, Mirror?" Spine said, his voice filled with pain and anger. "I named you my son!"

_"I know what you did!"_ I shouted, glancing at him. "I never asked you to! I never asked you to care for me! Your kind will kill everyone I love, so its either you or them. That's how things work in the wild. The strongest survive, and the weak die. I _am not weak._" I shouted, spit flinging from my mouth.

"You've gone mad..."

"And who's to blame?! You murdered those I loved in front of me! You did! You killed my brother!"

"That was you."

"No, that person was not Vigil. Vigil worked hard and never would hurt a fly! He trained to protect!" I said, drawing my blade.

"What are you planning to do with that?" He said, swallowing hard, his fingers growing into claws.

"Walk away from this, Spine. I don't want to hurt you."

"No." He said, clenching his eyes shut. I placed my sword on his shoulder, narrowing my eyes.

"You could have saved us."

"Do you take no responsibility for this?" He said weakly. "I understand your pain, I do. I've lost cubs. That is no excuse to cause a nation to devolve into war!"

"What has been done has been done." I said sternly.

"Then...finish me." He said, taking a deep breath. I readied my sword, his eyes slowly opening. The soft glow in them spoke of no emotion as they stared off into the distance, awaiting the end. In that reflection, I saw myself. I saw the blood smeared on my cheek, and the blood smeared in my eyes. The lust for crimson within them.

_But Weiss and Rae are dead!_

Yet whose fault was that? It certainly wasn't anyone in this town. No, it was Cinder's. I would kill her-

And then what? Why? My favorite word, why. When I painted on those hides, did I imagine the killing I would do? Part of me says yes, of course. You kill to survive. In what way was this survival? They would decimate us, I hear myself say. Yet, all the same, does that merit their death? What happened to my curious side? The one that hungered for knowledge?

Answer: It was the side of emotion. I was curious of emotion, and look where that got me.

I lowered my blade.

"Spine, I want you to run. Take as many children out of this town as possible. Take my mother, and start a new life."

"What?"

I glanced down at my scroll, seeing the message I expected to see. Why? I don't know.

_Prepare for war, something wicked your way comes -Ozpin_

Dad always was a smart one. With the factions at war, and an army on the horizon, this no longer was about survival. We would win. What remained to be seen was if any Grimm will live after this.

"I want you to remember me, Spine." I said, turning.

"Why are you speaking like that?" He asked in shock, rising.

"I have a mission. I signed up for Phantomclaw, and so I will fulfill my role."

"Mirror, you can't-" I twisted around, slicing into the tendon in his leg. He screamed as he fell, grabbing the already healing wound. Taking advantage of his injury, I fled into the crowd. Yells, fists, and even diner knifes flew past my head, blood spilling on the floor.

_You did this._

I watched as a man took someone's head and slammed it into the table, over and over again, until it was no longer a head.

_And you will end this. End it all._

The Third Night of Grimm will reign.

"Scar!" I shouted, glancing at him. He turned around, a surprised look on his face.

"'Ya should have given me ah warnin' befer you go off startin' wars!"

"No time. We need to go into the lab, now."

"Okay, uh, why?"

...

After running through conflict, which had already spread to outside the Mothertree, we arrived in the lab. I ran to Prometheus, pulling apart the console and connecting wires.

"What 'er ya doin'?" He asked with a frown.

"Building a nuke." I said, starting the sequence.

"Why you tearin' it apart? We have nukes."

_This was a godsent gift from the days of old. The ultimate ender. Without this, none of our tech could run. This runs civilization._

"I'm making a custom one, smaller." I said, slamming a vial into the machine. "More efficient."

_I can't end it, as much as I want to. That would just devolve the entire world into madness and war. That wouldn't stop anything._

"Are you going to bomb the Mothertree?" he asked.

"I'll have to return to the outside area of this forest to meet up with the troops. I need to alert them of what they're getting into."

"What about you're scroll thingy?"

"...That's not what I mean." I said, grabbing the nuke.

"What are ya going to do? Bomb this place?"

"I don't know. One things for sure, there won't be any more war once I'm done."

"That's your solution? Kill erebody?"

"...No."

"Yes, yes it is."

"Not...exactly." I said, glancing down at the warhead. "Just... get as far away as possible."

_I, glancing at that bomb, thought of the word 'Shiva'. Destroyer of worlds, this bomb was. It blew up the moon, and it destroyed the Old World. It would leave the Remnant of today._

_"_Sometimes, to build a new world, you have to tear down the old one."

...

I flew through the sky, my wings flapping through the wind as I passed over the canopy, the army visible on the horizon. Thousands of troops stood ready, rifles and swords in hand. Banners flapped in the wind, their barrels aimed at me.

_I'm leaving the heart of enemy territory just to charge back in. It seems...Illogical._

Landing, their bullets tore into my flesh with spills of blood.

_Death has taken too many. I can't rationalize, and I can't fix. I can only...stop._

My body shrunk as the shell of the Nevermore decayed and vanished, my grey hair flapping in the wind. Why did we fight?!

Revenge. An illusion of something that mattered. For the greater good. An illusion to justify death. For God. An illusion to justify slaughter. For money. An illusion to justify a later happiness. Kin. An illusion of those you let your guard down to.

_Fighting brings death, waiting brings death. They corner us, and we corner them. And so the cycle goes._

But how to break it?

_Find the links. The factions fight each other, and the nations fight each other. Factions, nations, lines, boundaries, differences. Hatred, racism, all the seeds of war, and thus, death. Faunus, Human, Grimm._

_To break, all must be equal. And the ultimate equalizer?_

I glanced at Ozpin, who held up his hand to stop the gunfire.

"Cinder isn't in Vale." He said simply. "They retreated."

"A cat can detect an earthquake before it happens." I said with a sigh, glancing back into the forest. "I raised some hell for you guys. I don't even think they noticed you coming."

"Are you okay?"

"...No. My family is dead."

"I...see." He said, swallowing hard. "Your mother will be in this fight. I don't recommend that you have the chance of fighting her. Stay this one out, please."

"You know I can't do that, Father." I said, chuckling as I drew out my sword. He sighed, glancing at the army.

"When you get to the capital, I want you to place this in there." He said, handing me a nuclear warhead. I winced looking at it.

"How... did you get it so compact? Dead World bombs aren't this small." I said, glancing at the bomb. He turned away. "A certain girl had to be sacrificed."

_You killed her?! You killed Penny?_

I thought of the nuke I had. And the one that was Penny.

_This madness would end. I... I have to take the evils of the world onto myself, and end it._

I clenched my eyes shut. There were two nukes of importance. Penny, and mine. My nuke was placed somewhere special, for when this was all over. Penny, however, would have to be placed on the tree.

_And what of the synthetics? How will they be equal?_

_They will not fit in, so they must leave. End...My...Pain..._

I turned, drawing my sword. Grimm crawled around the trees, hissing and scratching at one another.

"CHARGE!" Ozpin shouted, thrusting his cane forward. The army roared as rifles exploded with their bullets, Grimm raining from the trees in black and red raindrops. I sprinted in, my hair dying black as my fingers turned into claws around my sword. An Alpha Ursa reared up with a roar, my sword effortlessly meeting its neck and slicing off its head. I sprinted into the dark forest, a Death Stalker hissing as it leaped off. Leaping out of the way, I sliced into its tail. Spinning midair, I slashed with my claws, slicing into its chitin. With a grunt, I tore the shell apart, strings of gray matter hanging from each shard of its shell. I stabbed my sword inwards, ending the Grimm.

I dodged to the right as a Nevermore swooped down, landing on the ground. Its huge size told me more than I needed to know about it.

Raven.

My mother.

It squawked angrily, swinging its massive wings and sending forth a gale of feathers. My senses pulsed, adrenaline pumping through my system. I weaved through the feathers, slashing at its foot. It, no, she screamed in pain, her voice no different than the mother I loved. Clenching my eyes closed, I clenched my hand into a fist. She swung her wings downwards, allowing me to leap into the air, punching downward. The impact instantly snapped her bones.

Bird have brittle bones.

She screamed in pain, glancing down at me.

_Why?_ She begged.

I wish I knew the answer.

I wanted to stop being a pawn, a tool, a paintbrush. I wanted to settle down, to live. Now, it was only possible to win the game. To end the hunting.

"I'm...sorry." I said, tears streaming down my face. I slashed at her leg, causing the mass of the Nevermore to collapse down onto me. I threw aside my weapon, taking my claws and driving them into the falling chest, tearing it open. Blood spilled out as I cracked open her ribcage.

_Kathump_

_Kathump_

_Kathump_

Whether the beating was of mine or hers, I knew not. I clenched my eyes closed, bringing back my claw.

_Mother, I thought it could be simple. Fight the monsters that lurk in the dark._

With my emotions finally exhausted, finally gone, I stabbed into her heart, tearing it open.

_But that monster turned out to be me._


	19. Chapter 19

I stood upwards, the blood dripping off my claws. My mother's corpse rested in front of me, my eyes glazed over. Everything I had cared about died in that moment. Slowly, I turned my head towards the mothertree. Grimm and Men fought in explosions of dust bullets, fighting and attacking each other, painting the white bark a crimson red. Her body slowly regained its human shape. I glanced at my sword and decided to abandon it.I was more used to my claws anyways. They were the weapon that killed Vi-

Mercury, as well as Raven. The sight of her destroyed chest, her pained face speaking of her final moments...

I slowly picked up the corpse, weaving through the battle unnoticed. I glanced up towards the tree that I had stayed at, who glowed in an orange flame as it was razed to the ground. The screams of women and children had no effect on me anymore, nor the silhouettes of people leaping from the bone branches. With horrible splatters, soon enough even the grass was painted red. I settled my gaze on my tree, which rumbled as its internal wood crumbled away. It fell in on itself in one fell swoop, crashing down and creating a huge gale of bone dust.

The world grew into a fog.

I turned back forward, continuing my walk forward.

"Do you remember when you would read me bedtime stories of the heroes of the Old World?" I asked, glancing down at her closed eyes. A small smile rose to my face, a small chuckle escaping me as I remembered my childhood. "I really wanted to become Hercules. Even so, I never really liked him, he was too...powerful? No, I preferred Achilles. Invincible, except for one weakness. One spot that would kill him instantly." I said, stepping over a corpse.

"How about the time that Vigil spent three days in the wilderness training? I remember thinking it was so impressive."

"Then there was that one book, Dante's Inferno. I never got that book for the longest time. Its references, yeah, but I didn't get the ideology. Too much poetry, but you loved to read it to me. I'm still not sure what it means, but I have a good idea." I said with a chuckle. "You can't get to heaven," I glanced at the destroyed body of a small child to my left "Without going through hell."

I entered the Mothertree, walking to the center of the room.

"Hello." I said, glancing at my unsuspecting guest.

Surrounded by a mound of human and faunus corpses, there rested two. One, with a hole in his chest, was Spine. The other, not quite dead, was the woman I had been wishing to greet. She sputtered and heaved as she gripped her wounds, desperately attempting to heal them.

Cinder Fall. She was dying.

"My name is Mirror Black. This is my mother, Raven Brahwen." I said, glancing at her.

"Who...?" She said weakly, looking up. "Is that... Raven?"

"Yes."

I gently walked forward, glancing at the tables where the jury once sat. Calmly, I went up to the throne and gently placed my mother on it, making sure she was alright.

"She's...dead?"

"Why are you here?" I asked, glancing at her.

"Does...it matter anymore?" She said with a chuckle. "I'm dead. There's no way I can heal all these wounds."

"Please."

"I was informed..by Roman," She winced, spitting up blood. "That they were starting a manhunt for me, so I retreated. Nothing to it."

I glanced down at my hand, my fingers growing into bone.

"Do you regret what you did?" I asked. "Starting a civil war? Killing the ones loved by many?"

"Haha..."She said, rolling back her head to look at me. "What is this, my judgement? Are you just an angel or something? Am I already that dead?"

"Answer the question."

"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I try not to think about morality anymore."

"The same for me." I said, grabbing her head and yanking upwards. A popping sound erupted as her head tore from her neck, her spine coming along with it. I kicked the body off, watching it roll down the steps, turning back to Raven. With a sigh, I grabbed the nuke from my belt and gently took her hands. They were cold, but I wrapped them around them. Carefully, I took a knee, looking upwards.

"This is a friend of mine, Penny. I want you to take good care of her, okay? She's had a lot of mean people in her life. Show her the kindness you showed me." I said, standing and pulling out the scroll. With a straight face, I pressed on Ozpin's contact and held it up to my ear.

"The bomb has been planted."

"Good! I'll get a bullhead over to you ASAP. We'll only be able to hold it there for a minute at most, so get ready! I'll order the retreat!"

I dropped the scroll, pressing my boot over it. Increasing my weight, I waited until I heard the satisfying crack. Walking outside, I took one last look at the tree. The buzzing had already roared overhead as the airship lowered, several soldiers leaping from its metal cage. They all took a knee, aiming their rifles and checking he perimeter.

"All clear! Let's go!" He said, grabbing my arm. "You heard me!"

I tore my arm from him, walking at my own pace and stepping inside the airship.

"Where are we headed?" I asked, glancing at the pilot as we all piled in.

"Back to Beacon!" He said.

I chuckled. Typical Ozpin. He wanted me back in safety as soon as possible.

"If you don't mind me asking, how long is it set for?" He said. "Ozpin didn't brief us."

"Fifteen minutes, so we need to go." I said, the pilot nodding and taking to the air. I glanced at the crimson grass as we slowly rose, then at the bone scaffoldings, all of which had since snapped. Corpses of Grimm and Men hung from it like christmas tree ordinates, raining their blood onto the floor below. I smiled as the crimson grass slowly turned into a creamy white. It seemed the blood of the grimm had finally infected the men's blood enough to turn it into bone.

I glanced down at the forest as it flew behind us, the captain giving a thumbs up.

"Close your eyes!"

I formed a bone mask over my face as it happened. The world was silent, completely silent, for just a moment. Then, out of nowhere, an eruption louder than anything I could comprehend erupted. No source could be distinguished, just pure noise. Even through the closed bone of my mask, light still burned through the mask, blinding me through my closed eyes. Heat rushed over my skin, almost too hot to bear. All this, even at the distance we were away from it. Finally, the thunder shrunk into an echo, my mask vanishing. My eyes settled on the mushroom cloud, underneath which a cloud of dust had torn away all the great trees of the forest.

It had been done. The great equalizer.

Wielding the scythe of extinction, Humanity survived.

I smiled, the troops in the bullhead cheering. Cheering that the war was over. Cheering that their children were safe. Cheering that they had killed an entire clan of people. Leaning my head out the side, I glanced at Cardinal. We flew over the seven cities, soon seeing Beacon on the horizon. The beacon of hope and prosperity. Of knowledge and of liberty.

How ironic.

My eyes settled on the sky, thinking about my team members. Gale and Lily should have a good life, I would think. Yang should finally stop being overprotective of Ruby, once I was gone. Ruby would hardly notice my absence, Blake and Jaune being in a similar vein. As for Ozpin, I'm not sure how he would react.

We hovered over Beacon while the pilot requested permission to land.

With a sigh, I grabbed a grenade and pulled the trigger, tossing it out the airship. I watched as none of the troops took notice, the explosion nothing more than a small flash at our height. Nevertheless, the comms exploded.

_"Explosion detected! All vessels, postpone launch! Evacuating student's to city limits."_

The pilot just chuckled. The high of the ending of the war was getting to him. I watched as the students were evacuated, slowly piling into the airships. A smirk rose to my face as they rose into the air, flying away. I waved goodbye to Gale and Lily, and all my other friends.

A tear fell from my face.

I waited till the airships vanished behind the horizon.

Scar let me build a nuke. I had made modifications to it, namely to make it smaller. Not only that, but I changed what it would do. Instead of flat out exploding, it would explode pellets out into the atmosphere.

These pellets would contain the Lich cell.

This nuke would turn the entirety of humanity into Grimm.

**The** **ultimate equalizer.**

There would be no need for humanity to defend itself against the Grimm if they were them. Nor would they discriminate against the Faunus if there were no Faunus. There would be no greed in the hunting society that the Grimm held, and there would be no need for political factions for Grimm or Humans.

War would end... can you at least let me believe that? That I, who started a war, who had killed an entire people, who had let my friends die, who had killed my brother and mother, who let someone who cared for me die, could be redeemed? Just... give me this. Please.

Please...

I pulled open my vest, resting my hands against the switch, flicking it.


	20. Chapter 20:Epilogue:(Start of a new Era)

Ruby sighed, glancing at Yang.

"Why are you here?" Ruby said, glancing at my treehouse. "I told you, I'm a big girl now! Big girls live by themselves!"

"No big girl calls herself that." She chuckled, shrugging. "Anyways, how are you doing?

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean...settling in." She said, glancing around. "After that bomb exploded, everyone in Cardinal became infected with that plague. It took us way too long to figure out that the Grimm had that too. Not to mention all the synthetics dying in the EMP wave caused by the nuke."

"What about it?"

"I mean, you know after that happened we went to war thinking they caused it. Was it draining on you?" She asked. "You fought on the front lines."

"No, but I still find it hard to believe that Mirror did that. I think they're trying to hide something."

"Maybe." She said with a shrug, glancing back. Gale walked down towards the market district, Lily under his arm.

"He proposed the other day." Yang said with a smile.

"No. Way." Said Ruby. "Really?!"

"Yeah, they wed in like March. Pretty big thing, if you could imagine."

"I have to congratulate them!" Ruby said, running forward. Yang giggled, grabbing her hood.

"Hold on, let's let them have their fun. We need to get to work anyways."

"I don't wanna go to school..." Ruby sighed.

"You're a teacher, you have to." Yang said, flicking her head.

"It hasn't been the same since Ozpin committed suicide." She said, the tone growing sullen.

"I hear Jaune is going to become headmaster."

"Oh dear god." Ruby said, horrified.

"Let's just hope rumors are rumors, right? Anyways, go get 'em, cowgirl." Yang said, pushing Ruby by her waist. Ruby giggled, waving goodbye and moving on. She glanced upwards at the sunset.

It would be a good day.


End file.
